


All Ships Month 2013

by kimurasato



Category: Danny Phantom
Genre: F/F, F/M, Gen, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-05-11
Updated: 2014-05-11
Packaged: 2018-01-24 07:09:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 30
Words: 26,935
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1596080
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kimurasato/pseuds/kimurasato
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A theme-a-day collection taking place in September, which was dubbed All Ships Month. It contains various pairings, check the summary on each chapter to see what characters are involved.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Double Date

**Author's Note:**

> I decided for All Ships Months instead of doing a week dedicated to a ship, I would do a different ship for each day of the month!
> 
> Summary: Date night is looking grim for the men.  
> Characters: Skulker x Ember and Johnny 13 x Kitty

"I knew this was a bad idea," Johnny grumbled, watching the pair of women as they performed their little victory dance together. Their triumphant smirks only felt like sharp daggers digging even farther into his pride.

"We'd be having better luck if you ditched that lousy shadow of yours." Skulker glowered at him, and it was still a strange sight to see him in a human disguise rather than in that robotic suit that he always wore. But since their girlfriends wanted to go to the real world for their date night, Skulker decided to adopt the human disguise with his green hair still styled in a Mohawk and dressed similarly to the clothes that his robotic suit wore to avoid sending the masses screaming over a ghost attack. Although at this point, having Danny Phantom show up to ruin their dates might not be that bad of an idea. Things couldn't get much worse for the two men.

"The match isn't over yet," Johnny said, anger slipping into his voice as Kitty and Ember slapped hands and bumped hips. "We haven't finished our final frame yet. If we both get strikes, we could still win."

"Yeah," Kitty said with a laugh in her voice as she rolled her eyes, "if you rolled, like, five strikes maybe." She smirked smugly. "But that's not likely to happen." Her eyes drifted over his left side, and Johnny followed her gaze to see Shadow sneaking over to loom behind a couple sitting at another lane as they made a sickening scene of trying to eat each other's faces. Weren't humans supposed to need to breathe?

"Shadow!" Johnny hissed and pointed to his feet. Shadow wilted, pouting like a scolded child. He slid over the floor like liquid until he reached Johnny then pretended to be the ghost's shadow again.

"Skulker, that's not allowed," Ember shouted, placing her hands on her hips as her green eyes narrowed furiously at the hunter.

Skulker pouted, much like Shadow, as he reverted his arm back to normal. While Johnny looked away, Skulker had transformed his robotic arm into a rocket launcher that he would use to fire the bowling ball down the lane at the pins. It seemed like a sure fire way to score a strike, as long as Skulker aimed properly.

"We're not playing this stupid game next time," Skulker grumbled as he stood a few feet from the line with the bowling ball raised up in his hands. Then he drew back his right hand as he strode forward, swinging his arm forward. The ball released smoothly, making a dull thump as it hit the polished wood then continued rolling down the lane. It looked good. It looked really good! The ball was heading for the pins. It was going to hit! Johnny felt the excitement building up in him. But then the ball veered, skimming past the pins toward the gutter. Johnny's excitement came to a crushing halt as a single pin tipped over.

"You're only calling it stupid because you suck at it," Ember said, smirking as she folded her arms, shifting her weight so that one hip jutted out to the side. "What kind of hunter sucks at aiming a ball down a lane at a bunch of pins?"

"It's harder than it looks!" Skulker shouted in frustration.

"Not from where I'm standing." Ember grinned and slapped hands with Kitty, and when they yanked their hands away from each other, they snapped their fingers. Skulker glowered at their smirks.

"Hey," Johnny grabbed hold of Skulker's shoulder and forced him to turn and face him, "stay focused on the game. We can still win this if you pick up the spare and everything else is strikes."

Any hope of winning was crushed when Skulker only managed to knock down four more pins. Johnny didn't do much better when his turn came up, and he only took down seven of the pins in total. Their girlfriends made another show of dancing to celebrate their victory over their boyfriends.

"Oh, don't be so sore," Ember said as she walked over to Skulker and wrapped her arms around his neck. "I still love you even if you suck at bowling." She grinned then gave him a quick kiss on the lips.

"Maybe next time we should do mini golf," Kitty suggested, hugging Johnny with a smile on her face. "You should be happy we didn't make any bets over who won or lost."

"How about next time we do a little scaring?" Johnny questioned, squeezing his arms around Kitty and lifting her feet from the ground as he grinned at her.

"Scaring can be good too." Kitty leaned down and kissed him. Perhaps bowling for date night wasn't that bad of an idea after all.


	2. Intimacy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Summary: Kwan knew better, but it was impossible to stop the heart from feeling whatever it wished.  
> Characters: Dan x Kwan

"Why do you keep coming here?"

Kwan didn't tear his gaze away from his work when he heard the question. The voice had become familiar to him over the several months that he ventured to this particular spot. It was where they first encountered each other, and sometimes, it still felt like that was only yesterday that he first set eyes on the other. His reactions to the arrival of the other were silly. The speaker was a ghost, yet Kwan felt his pulse quicken, his heart hiccupped, and his face grew warm. These were not reactions to have toward a ghost. He knew that. His bosses, his co-workers - they would all look down on him for reacting this way toward a ghost. The worst that could happen wasn't simply losing his job, but he preferred not to think about that.

"I'm examining the vegetation," Kwan answered. His voice was controlled, calm, even. Good. He didn't want to let anything slip to the ghost that recently took up a starring role in his dreams. He was thankful _that_ kind of thing wasn't monitored by his bosses, though he wouldn't put it past them to observe the dreams of their employees. "That's part of my job. And the vegetation here seems to be undergoing some kind of disease that's killing it off. Quite unusual. If it spreads, the whole realm could be in trouble." He didn't want to turn around, but he did, casting aqua green eyes upon the ghost standing over him. He forced himself not to gulp as he stared up at the tall ghost, well muscled and board shouldered and wearing a cocky smile on a face that seemed to haunt him in his sleeping hours. "If it can transfer from plant life to ghosts, you could be in danger by remaining here."

The ghost crouched down then pressed one knee to the ground as he leaned forward. A hand rested right next to Kwan's hip as the ghost moved in so that their faces were close to each other. Far too close. Kwan sucked in a sharp breath of air and held it as he tried to keep his heart steady.

"So you _are_ worried about me." A wicked smirk twisted upon the ghosts face, and Kwan's eyelids fluttered at the breath washing over his face. "Is it really only about the vegetation after all this time? All those long talks?" Their mouths were almost touching as Kwan stared into those blood red eyes.

Ghosts were supposed to be evil. Ghosts were supposed to be the enemy. That was the way of thinking that was drilled into him during his training. But Kwan couldn't think that way. The ghost appeared violent and evil in the beginning, but slowly, over the months as Kwan got him to talk, he showed that he wasn't completely the villain that the young man's mind wanted to paint him up to be. Kwan talked to him about a number of things, things that he couldn't even mention to his best friend, like his doubts about what their organization did. Kwan could have joined to protection detail like Dash, but he was drawn to the scientific side of the organization. He wanted to study the life within the Ghost Zone, to research it and help give better understanding of it to the real world so that they would see that the ghosts and where they dwelled weren't things to fear. Not entirely, at least. He had seen many terrifying things during his ventures into the Ghost Zone, but not everything was scary.

Their mouths pressed firmly together, and Kwan wondered when that happened and for how long he kissed back. After high school, he went right into training to join the Guys in White. Being intimate with someone didn't fit into the schedule that left him feeling drained of energy every night that he actually managed to crash into bed. Many nights were spent at his desk, cramming in as much information as possible into his head. So when they kissed, it was like a sudden jolt of electricity waking him up, reminding him that he was still alive and left every cell in his body singing with a flush of heat that only came over him when his dreams went way beyond a kiss.

Kwan yanked back, turning his head away as he panted and his heart refused to calm. The erratic heartbeat was probably being sent to Dash, who was always his guard when he went into the Ghost Zone. Kwan really hoped his friend wouldn't take it as a sign that he was in trouble and needed the other man to come rescue him.

"I never got to do that with anyone when I was alive," the ghost said, his elbows balancing on his knees as his chin rested in his hands. "Kiss someone and really mean it." His gaze was serious and intense. Through all their talks, the ghost never mentioned anything as personal as that. His life before he died was a taboo subject, something they never touched.

"Dan," Kwan whispered, but he couldn't think of anything to say.

"But I get it." Sadness didn't show in his eyes, but a frown stretched over his face. "You're alive. I'm dead. We shouldn't be together like that."

Kwan drew his knees up and pressed his forehead against them. "This is too confusing!" he shouted out in frustration, hands grabbing chucks of raven hair. "I shouldn't feel anything for you. You're a _ghost_! But-" He pulled on his hair, almost hard enough to rip the handfuls out. "But you fill my thoughts when I let myself get distracted from my work. I should know better, but at the same time, I just want to say screw the rules!" He lifted his head and stared at the ghost, at Dan, at the one that he allowed himself to grow attached to without even realizing it. "Some days I just want to stay here and forget about the Guys in White. I just want to be with you."

Dan reached out, threading his gloved fingers through Kwan's hair, and the man leaned into the touch, eyes slipping shut. "If you stayed here, you'd die." His hand slipped down, fingers brushing around the curve of Kwan's ear then ghosting over his throat until his thumb rubbed over the man's collar bone. Maybe some part of Dan wanted Kwan to stay, to die, to potentially become a ghost and join him, but Kwan knew he would never ask him to do that. Dan wouldn't allow it, and Kwan knew he would say no if Dan ever asked. Kwan moved, shifting forward as his arms wrapped around the ghost's body and he buried his face into the crook of Dan's neck. He wished a moment like this could last forever, but life and death would drag them apart.


	3. Meeting the Parents

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Summary: Movie night was going well until his parents came into the picture.  
> Characters: Ghost Writer x Danny; and Jack x Maddie

"You really didn't like the movie?" Danny pouted, a bit hurt that the other man didn't enjoy one of his favorite movies.

"It just seemed like a poor excuse for mindless violence," Ghost Writer said with a crease in his brow as he frowned at the credits scrolling up the television screen.

"It wasn't all violence," Danny argued. He folded his arm over his chest as he sank down on the couch. "There was a story in there. There was, you know," he gestured at the television with his hands, "a love story thing."

"The boy ate the girl," Ghost Writer said dryly. "He ripped her throat out with his teeth then proceeded to tear her apart, limb by limb."

"That was _after_ he got turned into a zombie!" Danny threw his arms up in exasperation, giving up on the argument. He wasn't going to convince the ghost that it was a good movie.

"Oh!" Jack said when he peeked his head into the front room. "I thought you had your friends over." His eyebrow lifted at the man sitting next to his son on the couch. "Who is he?"

"Uh," Danny stalled, trying to think of an explanation. Thankfully, Ghost Writer decided to pay a visit in his human disguise, his skin not being so sickly pale and his green eyes no longer having that glowing appearance. Plus it didn't set off any ghost detectors because the disguise suppressed his ghostly signature.

"William," Ghost Writer answered smoothly without hesitation.

Jack entered the front room fully as he folded his arms over his broad chest. "Aren't you a little old for my son?"

"Dad!" Danny shouted as heat rose to his cheeks.

"I'm tutoring him," Ghost Writer replied, and Danny gaped at him, wondering how he could answer things without pausing to think of an answer. Did he have his responses planned in case a situation like this ever came up? "I started helping him with his English assignments, and we've bonded over a mutual love of books."

That part wasn't entirely off the mark. The way the met was far different, but they did grow closer to each other after Ghost Writer learned of Danny's interest in books. After several meetings and long talks, their relationship turned to something more than just friends. That thought brought another flush to his face.

"Are you ready to go, Jack?" Maddie asked, walking into the front room as she rifled through her purse. When she lifted her head, she blinked at the two men on the couch while shouldering her purse. "Oh, I didn't realize that you had a friend over."

"I think they're more than friends," Jack stage whispered, but he failed to be subtle enough for the other two to miss it.

"Dad!" Danny's face burned brightly as he scooted away from Ghost Writer, putting distance between them. He hadn't even told his parents that he was gay yet. How could his father jump to that conclusion and not freak out about it? Why wasn't his mother freaking out at the suggestion that he and Ghost Writer were something more than friends?

"It's a pleasure to finally meet you both," Ghost Writer said as he got up from the couch and walked over to the pair. He held out a hand toward them. "I'm William Goreman."

"Oh, he's a polite one," Maddie said, smiling as she shook his hand.

"Much better that that blond blockhead," Jack agreed with a nod.

Danny nearly choked when he heard that comment. "Dash?" he gasped out, gaping in utter disbelief. "You thought Dash was my boyfriend?" He gulped when Ghost Writer glanced at him, frowning like he disapproved hearing about possible prior boyfriends.

"Why else was he over here all the time?" Jack scratched at the back of his head in confusion.

"Because Jazz was tutoring him!" Danny shouted out, wanting to use his powers to disappear at that moment.

"Right." Jack nodded with a knowing smirk. "Tutoring."

Danny groaned and buried his face in his hands.

"Well, we were planning on going out to dinner," Maddie said, frowning as she looked over the two young men. "But perhaps we should have dinner in instead. We can get to know Danny's boyfriend!"

Danny felt like screaming into his hands. This was supposed to be a nice little date night with Ghost Writer where they sat curled up on the couch watching movies. How did it turn into the dread meet the parents date? Why were his parents so okay with this? Why was Ghost Writer taking this all in stride like it wasn't a big deal? Why was he the only one freaking out about everything?

"That sounds delightful," Ghost Writer said pleasantly, and Danny decided he should at least be happy that his boyfriend could handle this kind of thing well. "But I must ask: has your son always been so interested in mindlessly violent films?"

Maddie sighed, a hand to her cheek as she shook her head. "I'm not sure where that love of those type of movies came from. Perhaps it was his friends that got him hooked on them."

"Come on, Danny." Jack dragged his son from the couch. Then with his hands on Danny's shoulders, he guided his son toward the kitchen. "Let's show them what we Fenton men can whip up in the kitchen."

The idea brought a smile to Danny's face, thinking about how he could impress Ghost Writer with his cooking abilities. Maybe the night wouldn't be a total disaster.


	4. Music

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Summary: After a humiliating experience, Ember is at an all time low, considering an end to it all.  
> Characters: Danny x Ember

Ember stared blankly at the wall, not really seeing it and the posters taped up all over the place. Posters that her parents hated and wished she wouldn't keep up, but she always ignored them when her parents told her to take them down. It was her room, and she could decorate it however she wanted.

Her green eyes burned, the sting of gathering tears that threatened to spill over at any moment. Her hand squeezed around the unopened bottle of pills. She was so very tempted to twist open the cap and knock the whole bottle back like a shot of alcohol. Not that she really knew anything about alcohol, being under aged, but she saw plenty of other people do it. Her parents. People in movies. Characters on television shows. It would be very simple. All she would have to do is swallow the pills, and it would be like going asleep. She just wouldn't wake up. Ever again.

A melody interrupted her contemplation of death. It was soft and sweet and familiar to her. The bottle slipped from her hand as she reached up to wipe furiously at her eyes and remove any evidence that she had been crying. After she climbed off her bed, she walked over to the open window. Folding her arms over the sill, she leaned out the window, her gaze searching until it landed on the young man sitting on the fence with a guitar balanced on one leg. His long, pale fingers plucked skillfully at the strings.

Ember rolled her eyes, a smirk tugging at her mouth. The raven haired man used to be so sloppy at playing the guitar, but that was back when they met freshmen year. Now they were seniors, and the man had improved greatly over the years. Carefully, she drew up one foot onto the sill as her hand gripped the bottom of the raised window. Her other foot joined the first before she leaned around the edge to grab hold of the drain pipe that ran along the side of the house. It wasn't her first time sneaking out of the house in this manner, and she managed to reach the bottom without any mishaps.

"Did you come over just to annoy me with your awful playing, dipstick?" Ember questioned as she walked over to lean against the fence, standing right next to where the man sat.

"I heard at school that you had a date with Calvin tonight," he said and stopped playing.

Ember didn't need to look up to know that he wore a frown. She reach up and brushed a lock of her blue hair back behind an ear. It was just another thing that her parent didn't approve of, but she went through with dying her hair anyway. "And?" she demanded with a bite to her voice. "You wanted to come laugh like the others?" She could still hear their laughter in her mind, and the memory brought a fresh wave of tears burning at her eyes. She refused to cry in front of him, to show that weak side of herself. "Ha, ha," she forced out bitterly. "The silly little rocker girl thought the big bad jock actually cared about her. Let's all laugh at how stupid and gullible she is."

He hopped down from the fence and leaned the guitar against it. He was taller than she, and over the time that they knew each other, he had filled in from long limbed lanky fourteen to buff broad shouldered eighteen. Any girl would be lucky to get a date with him, Ember often thought so, but he was always attached to his two friends, that Goth chick and techno geek. Everyone knew he was dating the Goth chick.

"Want me to go beat the shit out of him?" he asked in all seriousness. Ember couldn't hear any hint that he meant it as a joke. Her head snapped around, and she gaped at him, staring into those bright blue eyes. "He's a piece of shit for doing that to you, and everyone there that laughed is a cruel asshole who only thinks about themselves. They think just because we aren't popular that we don't have feelings. They can do whatever they want to us because it won't hurt us. They're idiots!" His hands clenched tightly at his sides, and Ember couldn't remember seeing that rage in his eyes before. "You're so much better than they are. You have real talent. You're going to make it big one day, and then they'll be sorry that they ever treated you like shit."

"Danny," Ember mumbled numbly, not sure how to respond to him.

One hand uncurled, and he reached out and took hold of her hand, giving it a light squeeze. "I always-" A flush came over his cheeks, and he dropped his gaze as he shifted awkwardly in embarrassment. "I was always too scared to ask you out myself."

A laugh bubbled out of her. "What?" Ember swore she had to have heard that wrong. "What about Sam?"

Danny lifted his head, his brow creasing in his confusion. "What about her?" He reached up and scratched his head, his other hand still holding onto Ember. "She's dating Tucker."

Ember's mouth worked open and closed a few times, completely taken by surprised when she heard that. "And you," she struggled to put her thoughts together in a cohesive manner, "like _me_?" She had always considered him to be a friend, even if they weren't as close as he was with Sam and Tucker, but she never imagined that he could _like_ her.

"Yeah." Danny offered a tentative smile, a slight tugging at the corner of his mouth. "This probably wasn't the best time to mention it though. After what Calvin just did." He frowned, his eyes growing sad, like what happened hurt him more than it hurt Ember.

She shook her head, loose blue hair flopping around behind her. He couldn't know how perfect his timing was. If he hadn't come at that moment, Ember might have given in to the misery she felt at that humiliation at the hands of a jock. But here Danny was, grabbing hold of her and dragging her away from those dark thoughts. She reached her arms up and wrapped them around his neck, hugging Danny close to her.

"Thanks." Ember buried her head against his chest, thankful to have one person that appreciated her as she was.


	5. Date Night

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Summary: The carnival was their place. It was where they first dated. Dash hoped to make a new memory there tonight.  
> Characters: Dash x Jazz

Dash glanced over at Jazz. They were at the booth with the man that painted those creepy, in his opinion, pictures of sad clowns with wide smiles. He always hated clowns, and those paintings didn't improve his opinion of them. But Jazz always had some weird fascination with them, something to do with her analytical nature that left her wanting to dissect every detail of the painting like she could diagnose them as a therapist simply from how they appear in the painting. She was a brilliant psychologist, but no one could be that good. Though Dash would admit she came awfully close to it.

"It was about seven years ago, huh?" Dash questioned, leaning against the booth as his gaze drifted away to scan the crowd. Their jobs kept them fairly busy, so they designated Saturdays to be their date night. Luckily, the carnival always turned up at the same time every year, right around the anniversary of their first date.

The question distracted the woman from her internal pondering over the paintings. Jazz blinked aqua colored eyes at him, her brow creasing slightly with her confusion. "What?" she questioned as she reached up and brushed a lock of auburn hair back behind an ear.

"Since our first date," Dash elaborated, almost smirking. "I believe we came here that night too. And you," he shifted his weight and nudged his hip against her, "were obsessed with this booth back then too."

A flushed crept onto her cheeks, and Jazz looked pretty when she blushed. "I just find them really fascinating," she explained with a slight huff in her voice. "There's so much you get from the paintings without having to know anything about the subject."

"I think you just enjoy making up your own stories about someone's problems that you can then over analyze and diagnose." Dash chuckled when she gave him a shove.

"All right." Jazz folded her arms, her eyes narrowing a touch at the blond man. "What do _you_ want to do then?"

Dash allowed his dark blue eyes to sweep around the carnival again. He could see the Ferris wheel standing taller than everything else in the center, but that seemed so predictable that it was almost nauseating to think about going on it. A merry-go-round was off to the right, and he could hear the annoying and repetitive music over the chatter of the crowd. His gaze drifted to the left, and a smile drew across his face.

"Bumper cars!" Dash grabbed hold of the woman's hand, and before she could say anything, he dragged Jazz over to the carnival ride.

"Bumper cars?" Jazz repeated, not sounding very convinced that this would be a fun ride, as Dash handed the man at the entrance their tickets.

"It'll be great!" Dash helped Jazz into one of the cars, teal that matched the color of her mother's jumpsuit. After she was securely in it, Dash found another open car and climbed into it. His car was red, like the color for Casper High. Many other people were in the bumper cars around them, though many of them were much younger than they, and the couple stuck out among the teenagers.

Dash had no trouble having fun, speeding along in his car and ramming into the teenagers' cars. Some of the teen boys taunted him for being "old," and they thought they could get away from him after making those comments, but Dash wasn't going to let them off that easily. He might be an adult now, but he still had some of that old competitive side from his teen years. Jazz, however by the end of the ride, didn't look like she enjoyed it nearly as much as Dash. She stumbled along beside him as they exited the tented area, and Dash led her over to a bench where she could sit.

"I think next time, you can do that one by yourself," Jazz said, leaning back against the bench.

"You know," Dash stated tentatively as he sat beside her, resting one arm behind her, "I've always wondered what changed your mind about me. You always rejected me whenever I asked you out. Then one day, you suddenly said yes." He forced out a bit of a laugh. "I thought for sure I was dreaming!"

Jazz shrugged as she tilted her head, almost leaning it against him. "I guess it was because you finally showed you weren't that same bully anymore. You were actually treating Danny like a real person instead of a piece of gum stuck to the bottom of your shoe that needed to be scraped off and discarded."

"I guess I finally realized that your brother really wasn't all that bad," Dash said, scratching at his cheek. Truth was that his opinion of Danny changed when Danny stood up to some ghosts that were terrorizing the town. Dash still couldn't believe that Danny turned to him, barking orders to kick the former jock into action to fight against the ghosts too. Admittedly, it wasn't the first time, but it was different this time with only Danny and him there to stand against the five ghosts. Fighting side by side with Danny like that really woke Dash up to see that he wasn't just some wimpy loser. Danny probably could have fought back all those years in high school, but he chose not to.

"Too bad you didn't realize that sooner," Jazz said, breaking Dash from his thoughts. "Maybe I would have said yes to you earlier."

Dash's hand dug into his pocket, his fingers curling around the item that he carried around all night. This was the moment he waited for, but now nervousness built up in him, making him sweat and swallow thickly. He could do this! He planned for this. He brought his hand out as he pulled his arm away from Jazz. _Breathe. Just breathe, and you'll be fine_ , he told himself.

"I'm glad you said yes back them," Dash said, squeezing his hand around the object he held. "These last seven years have been the best time of my life. And I hope," he swallowed again, his heart beating faster in his chest, "that you might say yes to me again." He climbed off the bench, dropping onto one knee as he opened the black velvet box to reveal the diamond ring inside it. "Will you marry me?"

Jazz stared, her mouth hanging open and her wide eyes focusing on the ring. Some people around them stopped to stare at the scene, and Dash felt even more nervous about this whole proposal. He hadn't thought about putting Jazz on the spot like that with people watching and waiting to see if she would say yes or not. He just thought that here, at the carnival where they went on their first date, would be the best place to make his proposal.

Jazz slowly climbed off the bench and knelt before him. Dash wasn't sure what answer to expect from that reaction. Then Jazz threw herself forward, arms wrapping about Dash's neck as their lips crushed together. They knelt there kissing, forgetting about the people around them. The claps and cheers barely registered in Dash's mind as his arms wrapped around the woman to hold her close.

When they broke apart, Dash's mind only focused on Jazz's whisper of, "Yes."


	6. Snuggling

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Summary: The end of their usual routine was the best part of the night.  
> Characters: Valerie x Danielle

Danielle, now going by Elle, collapsed onto the couch with a loud sigh. Her muscles ached all over, and her breath was ragged as sweat trickled down from her forehead, sliding over pale skin. "I can't go another round!" She leaned her head back over the couch, blue eyes slipping shut as she tried to catch her breath after the long, physical exertion.

"Ha! I was just getting started," Valerie said with a cocky smirk, but she was breathing fairly hard too. She wiped her face with a towel as she walked over to sit down beside Elle on the couch. It became their usual routine after knowing each other for several years.

"I would have beaten you if I could use my ghost powers," Elle argued, stealing the towel to wipe the sweat from her own face. She knew she probably could use a shower, but she felt too exhausted to move from where she sat. Even if it was their usual routine to spar with each other, they always pushed themselves to their limits, trying to outdo each other and one up the other woman. They both had a bit of a competitive streak to them.

"Not if I had used my suit," Valerie countered, reaching over to ruffle Elle's ebony locks.

"Hey!" Elle protested, though her long hair probably looked like a mess already from their sparring. She tugged the hair band free then ran her fingers through her locks as she gathered her hair back into a ponytail. Her blue eyes narrowed at Valerie as she felt momentarily jealous of the short hair that the other woman sported. She sometimes entertained the idea of cutting her own hair, but she always nixed the thought in the end. She didn't want to end up looking exactly like Danny when she cut her hair short. That was part of the reason why she stopped going by Dani and started going by Elle. It made it less confusing for everyone, not to mention it made her feel more like she had her own identity apart from Danny.

"You should just leave it down," Valerie suggested, taking a lock of ebony hair and twirling it around her finger.

"It gets in the way too much if it's down. Especially when it comes to fighting." Elle stretched her arms over her head with a groan as the muscles pulled taut before she sagged back onto the couch. "What should we do for the rest of the evening? I'm too sore to get up and do anything."

"Well, we could go out," Valerie suggested, tilting her head to the side as she hunched one shoulder, "or we could just stay in and watch movies."

"Vengeance: The Dead Rises Again?" Elle asked excitedly.

"I guess," Valerie replied hesitantly, and Elle remembered that the other woman wasn't as interested in the gory, violent movies that Elle tended to like most.

"But we can watch whatever you choose," Elle offered, as she was the one that picked the movie they watched last time.

"Let's just see what's on TV," Valerie suggested, and she leaned forward with a groan to pick up the remote from the coffee table. "I'm too tired to get up and search for a movie." She flicked on the television and started surfing through the channels to find something good to watch.

Elle smiled as she leaned against the other woman, shifting about until she found a comfortable position resting against her. She used Valerie's shoulder like a pillow, her arm snaking about the woman's waist. Valerie's green eyes slid away from the television and down to Elle. After she settled on some ridiculous comedy, Valerie reached over, forcing Elle to shift a bit, as she grabbed the blanket at the end of the couch. In the end, Elle was practically laying on top of Valerie with the blanket draped over both of them as they watched the movie. Some nights, Elle thought she could stay curled up like this against Valerie forever, lulled to sleep by the steady heartbeat of the other woman. She really enjoyed sparring with Valerie, but it was the afterward snuggling that she enjoyed the most.


	7. First Kiss

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Summary: All she needed was someone to show her she wasn't worthless.  
> Characters: Lancer x Dora

She sat watching as the people past by her, all laughing and chatting and sounding like they were having a grand old time. She wanted to join them and have fun too, but no one even noticed her sitting there on the bench. She felt as alone there as she did back home with her cruel brother ruling over everything everyone did in the kingdom. Back home, everything she wanted was denied to her. She had to be the perfect little princess next to her brother. She had to stay silent and never speak her mind, or she would feel the wrath of her brother if she did. That was her reason for sneaking out today, fleeing from the kingdom, from the Ghost Zone, and into the real world.

She lowered her blue eyes, the color chosen for her human disguise, to gaze sadly at the ground. She thought breaking away from her brother's rule for a day would make her happy, but she only felt more alone in the vast sea of unfamiliar faces. They wore such strange clothing here too. If anyone wore clothes such as that in her kingdom, her brother would have them beheaded! The threat seemed less terrifying when she remembered they were all ghosts, but beheading was still quite uncomfortable, even for the dead.

"What's the matter, Miss?"

She lifted her head, glancing about before her gaze settled on the man before her. She blinked several times at him, for he certainly couldn't be speaking to her. Everyone else acted like they couldn't even see her! He was different from those that continued walking past them, some only throwing passing glances at them and giving them strange looks before they moved on. He wore armor like she might see on those in her kingdom, making him look like a very dashing knight, despite being bald and slightly overweight.

"Um," she mumbled, feeling at a loss for words with the man standing before her. "Did you mean me?"

The man glanced about then returned his gaze to her with a smile upon his face. "I see no other beautiful woman who looks like she could use a person with whom to talk."

She blinked then flushed lightly as she lowered her gaze. "Don't you know it's proper custom to name yourself before addressing a lady?"

The corner of his mouth twitched, and he bowed his head to her. "My apologies." He placed hand to his chest and bent over in a small bow. "My name is Lionel Lancer. May I ask for your name?"

"I am Dora Mattingly," she replied, her cheeks growing warm.

"Well, Lady Dora, do you wish to tell me what is causing you to look so sad?" He tilted his head with a curious look in his green eyes.

Her gaze slid away as she frowned. He seemed like a nice man, and he was the first to pay her any attention, but she didn't want to bother him with her problems. Nothing she told him would change the home she would have to return to eventually. "I wanted to go to the ball," she said, confessing the only thing she could think of at that moment.

"Ah." Lancer nodded. "Then you're in luck." He smiled as he stretched out a hand toward her. "I happen to be on my way to the faire, and I believe they will be holding a ball tonight. That is, if you allow me to be your escort."

Dora blinked him, unbelieving of his words. She thought it was an impossible wish. She was never allowed to attend the balls in her kingdom. Staring at the hand presented before her, she was almost scared to accept it, to have one of her heart's desires actually fulfilled. Hesitantly, she took the hand, allowing him to pull up from the bench and to her feet.

The faire, as he called it, was better than she could have imagined. There were performers in the streets, juggling and dancing. Lancer bought her some mead, and the taste reminded her closely of what they served in the castle during festivities. They watched archers firing at targets from great distances, and she gasped with excitement when they struck the bull's eye dead on. Lancer participated in a swordsmen competition, fighting against other men in single combat. Dora was left breathless during his matches, worrying for his safety when the sword came far too close for comfort to wounding him. He only advanced to the third fight before he was defeated and the tournament continued without him.

"Ah," Lancer said, rubbing the back of his head with an embarrassed flush. "I didn't do too well this time."

"You performed quite admirably!" Dora insisted. "Any wise king would proudly have you serve as his knight." She flushed and ducked her head when the words left her mouth. She was acting much too bold, and she would be reprimanded for her behavior if she were back in her kingdom.

"How kind of you to say." Lancer took her hand in his own then glanced away with a hint of embarrassment. "If I could be so bold, and the Lady allows it, might I ask," his eyes glanced her way, "for a kiss?"

The blush couldn't be stopped from blooming upon her cheeks. What was she to say to a question like that? No man ever gave her a passing glance much less asked if they could kiss her. She always invisible, a silent presence in the background that got overlooked. They only just met, and she knew it wasn't wise to allow him to kiss her so soon after meeting. But she rather liked him, and this might be her only chance to actually be kissed. She bit down on her tongue as she nodded, knowing if she answered out loud, she would likely chicken out and tell him no.

A hand touched her chin and tilted her head upward. She clamped her eyes shut, hands squeezing around the blue fabric of her dress. Her muscles grew tense in her anticipation of the kiss. The lips brushed, almost ghosting, gently against her own, the hair upon his chin tickling against her flesh. When he stopped, she opened her eyes and met his gaze. Lancer seemed to be waiting for something, and Dora wasn't sure what it was, but he had a calming influence on her. Her body relaxed, and when it did, Lancer pressed his lips more firmly against hers. She responded slowly, trying to find her way in how to properly kiss him back. He didn't pull away and laugh at her poor attempt, which filled her with a sense of great happiness. He was treating her like someone, like she wasn't just something in the background that deserved ridicule if she did anything wrong. He was allowing her to find her own way of doing something. He had done that all day, she realized in that moment. He never snapped at her if she acted inappropriately. He allowed her to try things for herself instead of treating her like she was incapable of doing anything on her own.

Dora wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him back for all she was worth. Should she never see him again after this night, she wanted this memory to live on strongly in her mind for the rest of her days in the Ghost Zone. When they pulled apart, a smile tugged at Lancer's mouth.

"That was quite some kiss," he said breathlessly, and the blush returned to Dora's cheeks. In the distance, they heard the sound of a bell. "Ah, that will be the ball starting." He smiled as he held out an arm to her. "Shall we?"

She didn't feel shy anymore, because with Lancer, she was allowed to be whatever she wanted without punishment. Dora smiled widely as she took his arm and he led her toward where the ball would be held. Maybe, she touched the jeweled necklace she wore, when she returned to her kingdom, it would be time for a change.


	8. Hand Holding

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Summary: Seeing the other growing stronger each day, he fears one day he will lose him.  
> Characters: Wulf x Kwan

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A little A World Unseen afterward story.

He pressed a hand to his side, feeling an ache in his muscles that he wasn't used to after running around for long distances, but that was usually on flat terrain. Even in the forest, the ground was still mostly flat. The race up the steep hill, having to be careful with his foot placement least he trip and injure himself, was far more strenuous than their previous activities. Turning around, he grinned impishly as he waited for the other man to reach him at the top of the cliff overlooking a wide stretch of the forest.

"And you said a kitsune couldn't beat a werewolf," Kwan teased with a glow in his aqua green eyes.

Wulf lifted his head as he climbed over the last boulder to reach level ground again. For a moment, irritation flashed in his eyes, not caring to have the other man taunting about being slower. Then a wolfish grin spread slowly over his face, and Kwan's muscles tensed with worry, wondering what was going through the man's mind at that moment. Wulf launched forward, and Kwan's eyes grew wide as the man rushed toward him.

"Wulf, what-" Kwan didn't get the chance to finish his question as Wulf grabbed hold of his hand and kept moving. One, two, three steps and he leaped over the edge of the cliff, dragging Kwan with him. The wind whipped past them as they descended from the tall height. Kwan gaped at the werewolf, a scream caught somewhere in his throat. Wulf could only grin widely at the shock on the kitsune's face.

Then with a loud splash, they dove into the lake beneath the cliff. The water crashed all around them, tossing and turning them. Despite the chaos that left Kwan feeling a rush of panic squeezing at his chest as he held his breath, Wulf kept a firm grasp upon Kwan's hand, refusing to release the kitsune as they struggled to right themselves and find their way back to the surface. When they broke through, Kwan gulped in greedy mouthfuls of air, the panic still making his heart pound. Then he heard laughter beside him, and he snapped his head around to glare at the chuckling werewolf.

"I couldn't resist," Wulf admitted with a crooked grin. "My brother did that to me with I was ten. Scared the crap out of me."

"A little warning would have been nice," Kwan grumbled before sinking in the water until only his eyes remained above water.

"That would have ruined the surprise." Wulf tugged on Kwan's hand, pulling the kitsune closer to him. "I'm glad I can still catch you off guard." He frowned slightly. "You're getting more powerful everyday you train with Amorpho."

Kwan found Wulf's other hand in the water and laced their fingers together. "My feelings for you aren't going to change just because I'm learning more about what I can do with these powers I have." He tilted his head up until his lips brushed against Wulf's in an almost kiss.

"Maybe I'm just scared that the other kitsune will somehow persuade you to leave here and join them," Wulf confessed seriously as he wrapped his arms around Kwan, trapping the kitsune's hands behind his back as they continued holding hands. "I wouldn't blame you for wanting to go live among those like you. It's only natural to want to be with those of your kind."

Kwan frowned as he stared into Wulf's sad eyes. He didn't need to be able to read minds like Dash to know what the werewolf was thinking. Wulf only got that look on his face when his thoughts turned toward his lost family, the pack stolen from him. Kwan tilted his head up again, bumping his forehead against Wulf and nuzzling against him.

"I would never join them," Kwan told him as he met and held Wulf's gaze. "You're my family. You and Valerie. I don't need to be with other kitsune to feel at home when I have the two of you."

They stared at each for some time, bobbing in the calm water, before the sadness lifted from Wulf's eyes. A smile crossed his face before he dove in to capture Kwan's mouth in a kiss, neither one caring when they sank beneath the surface of the water as their kiss deepened. Hands broke apart, Kwan wrapping arms about Wulf's neck and fingers sliding through the werewolf's dark hair as Wulf held on tightly with his arms wrapped around the kitsune's waist. No matter what Amorpho and his other kitsune might offer him, Kwan would never give up his life with Wulf.


	9. Morning After

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Summary: When he wakes up in an unfamiliar room, Dash receives a bigger shock than he could ever imagine.  
> Characters: Dash x Danny

A blue eye cracked open, but the world around him was nothing but a blur at first. After some time, the room came into focus, and his first thought was that this wasn't his room. He could tell that immediately by the fact that while he did have a Dumpty Humpty poster on his wall, he didn't have a giant poster of space or the blue prints to a shuttle. He was waking up in someone else's room, and he tried to grab at his scattered thoughts to remember what happened last night.

The shifting of the mattress alerted him to another fact: he wasn't alone. He turned slowly, ignoring the puddle of drool he left on the pillow. A mop of raven hair met his gaze, but the person's face remained hidden under the arm thrown over their face. But he had a pretty good idea of whom it was, and his heart nearly stopped in his chest. Shit. What the hell did he do last night to end up in bed with Fenton of all people? Could he get out of the bed without other man noticing? Oh shit! And what if Fenton, unlike himself, remembered _everything_ about what happened last night?

Dash rubbed at his face, wondering how he ended up in this mess. He pinched at his bicep and winced when he felt the pain. He couldn't claim this was some weird dream.

"How much do you remember, Dash?" Fenton asked, his voice sounding hoarse.

Nope. Dash wasn't getting out of this without the other man knowing. "Considering this is a pretty big shock to me, I'm going with not much," he mumbled. He clamped his eyes shut, rubbing at them as he tried to remember anything that happened last night. He remembered there being a ghost. It was some freaky ass thing, being all skeletal with fingers that looked more like knives that could gut him in seconds. A shudder ran through him, and he felt an ache in his left thigh. Sitting up, he lifted the covers off him, thankful to find he was at least wearing his boxers. But there were bandages covering his thigh, and he could see stains from blood that seeped through the thick white gauze. He twisted around, snapping wide eyes onto Fenton.

"You're lucky," Fenton said, his mouth drawing down into a frown. "That could have been a lot worse."

Dash grabbed his arm, yanking it away from Fenton's face and pinning both arms to the bed as he leaned over the man. Fenton turned his gaze toward the headboard, refusing to look at the jock, but Dash could see a lingering hint green around the edges of the man's bright blue eyes.

"Phantom?" Dash gasped out, feeling like someone just slammed their fist into his chest.

Fenton closed his eyes with a sigh. "I was afraid you'd put the pieces together."

"Then why the hell did you bring me back here?" Dash gaped at the man, mind spinning with the new knowledge of his secret identity. Looking at Fenton now and imagining him with white hair and green eyes, he couldn't believe he didn't realize it sooner. But why would he ever assume that they were the same person when Fenton was clearly alive and Phantom was clearly a ghost? He brushed a thumb over the pale flesh just below Fenton's wrist. Definitely alive.

"I don't know!" Fenton's eyes squeezed even tighter shut as if he could cast away reality if he kept them clamped closed. "Your leg was bleeding pretty badly after I took out the ghost, and you were babbling like an idiot. I wasn't even thinking when I brought you back here and patched up your leg."

"I'm surprised you even knew-" Dash's gaze lowered to what he could see of the man's body. Fenton's chest was peppered with bruises and faded scars. Oh. Of course Fenton would quickly learn how to patch up injuries if he was keeping his identity as Phantom secret. Dash released a sigh as he hung his head. "Thanks. You know, for saving me from that ghost and patching me up."

Fenton shrugged, like it was no big deal, just another thing a hero did without asking for thanks or recognition. Damn it. Why did Fenton have to be so selfless all the time?

Dash leaned his head closer. "Hey," he said softly, almost gently, and Fenton snapped his eyes open to stare at him in surprise. "I know I act like a dick a lot of the time, but I'm not going to tell anyone about this. I'm not an idiot. I know it's important for you to keep this secret. Especially with your parents." His eyes widened a fraction. "Shit, man. How do you live here and not be in constant fear for your life?"

Fenton actually smiled, and Dash found himself relaxing, as if that expression on the man's face suddenly drove away all the worries. "It hasn't been easy. There were plenty of times when my parents nearly caught me." A shoulder lifted in a small shrug. "But I figure I've gotten away with it this long. I can probably make it until at least graduation, and once I'm away at college, I can relax a little."

Dash tried to imagine living with that threat hanging over his head, the threat of being discovered and having his parents treating him like the enemy. He had trouble imagining how Fenton even survived this long. His parents might not be seen as the greatest ghost hunters in the world, but they were bound to catch a ghost or uncover Fenton's secret at some point if they kept trying. Added to that, having to keep up with school and being harassed by bullies, Dash had to respect Fenton for being able to deal with all of that and still be able to optimistic and friendly and selfless enough to help someone that hadn't treated him all that nicely.

"I-"

"Danny, are you up-"

Both Dash and Fenton turned their heads toward the door of his room where Mrs. Fenton stood. A black gloved hand went to her mouth as her violet eyes widened. Dash felt his cheeks growing warm with a blush because the way they were at the moment had to look very incriminating to Fenton's mother.

"Wait! It's not-" Dash pulled a hand away from one of Fenton's wrists to protest.

"Danny!" Mrs. Fenton frowned at her son. "Why didn't you just tell us you were gay? You didn't have to sneak boys into your room." She placed her hands on her hips, looking very disappointed in her son for keeping secrets.

"S-Sorry," Fenton mumbled, and Dash snapped his gaze back to the other man, whose blush reached even to the tips of his ears. He wasn't denying it! Was Fenton really - Dash's eyes grew wider. Did Fenton _like_ him? Dash didn't know how to react to that, and even less about the fact that he wasn't disgusted to think that Fenton liked him.

"I hope you won't make a habit of this," Mrs. Fenton said sternly. "Now hurry up and get dressed. Breakfast is almost ready, and you don't want to be late for school." She turned and left the room, but Dash would bet good money that she planned to have a much longer conversation about this incident with Fenton later.

"I guess we better get ready," Fenton mumbled, climbing out of bed to get dressed.

"Uh, right." Dash felt like his head was spinning. Maybe he should put this all aside until he could think straight without feeling like his world just got turned upside down. Did _he_ like Fenton back? He scratched at the back of his head as Fenton tossed him some clean clothes. This was too much and too confusing for him to even consider thinking about at that moment. Once they were dressed, Dash thankful that Fenton had some fairly baggy clothes that fit him, they headed down to the kitchen. Dash could only see this breakfast being very awkward.


	10. Team Up

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Summary: They were an unlikely team, but they both had their reasons for continuing with what seemed like an impossible mission.  
> Characters: Dan x Danny

This had to be the worst idea that he ever came up with. Danny's gaze drifted to his left where the other occupant of the room was peering through the keyhole to be certain nothing was coming after them. How he got caught up in this mess, he couldn't even remember, except that in the moment going with the other seemed like his best choice. That was two weeks ago, and he was starting to think he made the wrong choice back then.

"You should put the fire out."

Danny sneered at the back of the other's head. Remaining in ghost form didn't make him invulnerable to the cold, and this stupid house, or whatever, felt like it was stuck in an ice box or at the North Pole or Antarctica or some other freezing place. "Maybe you should put your hair out then," he grumbled then leaned forward and blew a cold blast that washed out the fire, leaving them in near darkness. Only the flicker of white hair offered any light within the room. The glow of their eyes only allowed them to identify where the other was and nothing more.

"You would have been ripped to shreds by now if I wasn't here." Dan twisted around from the door and stalked toward him. "I can't believe you got me into this mess."

"Me?" Danny shouted as he shot to his feet, thankful that the years had given him enough height to stand even with his evil future. "You didn't have to follow me in here!" He narrowed his eyes, teeth grinding painfully. Why did he have to get stuck with Dan of all people? Right now, he thought even Vlad would be better. At least the older half ghost wouldn't be as big of a distraction.

"You didn't have to come in here either!" Dan snapped back, grabbing hold of the black jumpsuit and slamming Danny's shoulder into the wall. The wall that he couldn't phase through. Their powers were at a minimum, and it was lucky if they could manage to fire off even an energy ball. Danny realized now why he was warned against even entering this place.

"Tucker and Sam are here somewhere," Danny growled, feeling no intimidation from the glower on Dan's face. He grew stronger over the years. Though he knew Dan didn't sit idle during that time either, they were about even in strength while stuck in this place. "I'm _going_ to find them."

Dan growled, his upper lip drawing back to show off fangs as he pressed Danny harder into the wall. "This place could destroy you before you even find them. Do you think they want you risk your life like that? This is suicide!"

Danny pushed back, but they were at a stalemate in strength. "Maybe _you've_ given up on your friends," his eyes narrowed, and he hated that he felt sorry for his evil future instead of outright hating him for everything, "but _I_ haven't. I don't care if you decide to back out now. I'm going to fight through this piece of shit until I find them and bring them home again."

"I haven't-" Dan growled deep in his throat before his shoulders sagged and his grip loosened upon Danny. His head lowered, but that didn't stop Danny from seeing that expression on his face, that hint of brokenness that his evil future never let show to anyone. It pulled at Danny, and he shifted his hold to lift Dan's head to see that lost look in his red eyes. "I haven't given up on them. But I'm not losing _you_ to this hell hole."

"Then stop fighting me on this and help me find them." Danny held out a hand to Dan, who stared at it in surprise, as if he didn't know what it was.

Then Dan grabbed hold of his hand in a firm grip, and before Danny could even react, Dan dragged his younger half forward until he could capture Danny's mouth a sloppy, forceful kiss. For a moment, hands grasping each other tightly, Danny lost himself in the kiss, forgetting about the terrible place surrounding them or the fact that he had to save his friends. When Dan pulled away, Danny stood there stunned, the memory of the kiss tingling upon his lips as it danced through his mind.

"We," Danny licked his lips then swallowed as he stared into Dan's eyes, "can talk about that more when we get out of here." He really couldn't allow his evil future to distract him like that. "First, we focus on saving Tucker and Sam."

Dan nodded then turned his head with a frown on his face. "We should move. That thing is getting closer."

Danny followed Dan's gaze toward the door, and his muscles tensed as the scratching noise grew closer to their position. "Right," he whispered slowly. "But where do we go? That thing is blocking the only exit out of this room." They glanced around, but there was only one door to the room. There was a window set in the wall opposite the door, but despite the sea of green and the occasional flying door, they couldn't get out that way. They tried as soon as they entered the room, but the window couldn't be opened and the glass couldn't be broken.

"I've never been one for rules," Dan said as he grabbed hold of Danny's hand. "So maybe it's time we start breaking some of the rules to this piece of shit hell hole." Green flames sprouted from his free hand. Then he slammed his fist into the floor, which cracked under the force of the blow but not enough to allow them to escape that way.

Danny curled his other hand into a fist. They couldn't get out of this place alone, but if they worked together, they might stand a chance of surviving. He joined Dan in pounding his fist into the floor until they broke through it and dropped to the level below them, hitting the ground with a hard thud and a cloud of dust surrounding them as splintered boards dropped down around them. They were going to make it through this place. They were going to rescue Tucker and Sam. Together, they could overcome any hurdle.


	11. Argument

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Summary: Some arguments are big while others were small. This was just another day with another small disagreement.  
> Characters: Jack x Maddie x Vlad

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Something for Ghost Chicky's Breakfast Family AU.

"No!" Vlad shouted, hugging the small four year old boy close to his chest. He wore a severe frown on his face as he stared at the other man, who pouted in response. The boy glanced between the two men with a baffled expression, confused by their arguing.

"Aw, come on, Vladdie!" Jack grinned encouragingly at him. "I made it myself!"

"As much as I like you, Jack," Vlad made a face of distaste at the item held up by the other man, "I refuse to allow you to put that on my son."

"But, Vladdie!" Jack whined, frowning in disappointment that his handmade bright orange jumpsuit with a picture of his face plastered on the chest wasn't well appreciated. "How is anyone going to know he's one of us if he doesn't wear it to school?"

Vlad rolled his dark blue eyes. "I don't think we have to worry about anyone knowing he's our child." Already he could imagine the teasing that Daniel would endure for coming from their family.

Other parents, like Mrs. Manson, greatly disproved of their living arrangement. He had few encounters with the woman, but they always left a sore taste in his mouth when she sneered at the fact that Vlad was in a very happy relationship with Jack and Maddie. Sometimes he wished he could ignore those comments like Jack and Maddie did, but every time he heard her making those comments about their "weird and inappropriate" family because they didn't adhere to normal conventions of a one man-one woman relationship, Vlad just wanted to use his ghost powers, perhaps scare her a little. Or more.

"Besides, I already told Daniel that he could pick out what he wanted to wear to school," Vlad said as he set his son down on his feet. "And he is very happy with what he picked." Vlad placed a hand on Daniel's head, running his fingers through the raven hair that matched with Jack. It was one of the reasons everyone thought that Daniel was in fact Jack's son. It didn't bother Vlad, much, since Daniel knew that he was his father, not Jack.

Daniel grinned up at Jack as he leaned back against Vlad's legs. He picked a Pac Man shirt from the pile of clothes in his drawers. The front had three of the ghost characters with Pac Man chasing after them on it.

"But I wanted him to wear the Jack suit." Jack pouted.

"Is Danny ready for school yet?" Maddie asked as she came into the front hall with her daughter trailing after her.

"Vlad won't let me put Danny in the Jack suit," Jack complained, showing Maddie the effort he put into making the jumpsuit.

"Is that what the arguing was about?" Maddie sighed as she placed her hands on her hips.

"You'll hamper his social growth making him wear that," Jazz said, wrinkling her little nose at the bright orange jumpsuit in her father's hands. "Danny's already at a disadvantage considering the stigma our family puts on him."

"Hm," Maddie placed a hand to her cheek with a thoughtful expression. "Jazz always rejected wearing the Maddie suit. I always hoped maybe Danny would wear it."

"But Jack suit!" Jack wiggled the jumpsuit in front of Daniel, like he could entice the boy into wearing it.

"How about we just leave it up to Daniel?" Vlad asked, frowning at Jack. "Daniel, do you want to wear a jumpsuit?" He dropped his gaze to his son, who tilted his head up to him.

"But I like the Pac Man shirt," Daniel said as his mouth curved downward. Both Maddie and Jack looked disappointed by his answer.

"Maybe a third child will be the charm," Jack suggested.

"Why, Jack!" Maddie blushed prettily.

"Not where impressionable children can hear!" Jazz shouted as he slapped her hands over Daniel's ears.

"What are they talking about?" Daniel asked innocently.

"That's not important. It's time for school." Vlad gave the two children a nudge toward the front door. He shook his head, wondering with a small smirk if they would even manage to get any work done today while their children were off at school. Though, he decided, he might not mind the distraction.


	12. Roller Coaster

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Summary: Stuck together in a small car, Paulina thought for sure it was going to be an unpleasant ride.  
> Characters: Sam x Paulina

"This is sure to be a fun ride," Paulina murmured, tapping her fingers over the bar across her to ensure her safety as they climbed the first rise of the roller coaster. Her emerald gaze slipped sideways to the other woman sitting in the car with her. When they were getting into the cars, Dash grabbed Kwan to join him at the front before Paulina could even say a word. Danny and Tucker didn't seem to think twice before climbing into the next car, leaving only Sam to join Paulina in the final car.

She supposed the situation could be worse. She could be stuck with Tucker, who would either sit there staring at her and drooling or start yammering on about tech stuff that Paulina didn't care one iota about. She shuddered simply thinking about having to listen to him drone on and on about the boring topic.

"Not scared of heights, are you?"

Paulina frowned at the smirk that slipped onto Sam's face, even more when she felt a warmth spreading onto her cheeks. She tried denying it for some time, always trying to avoid the Goth woman now, but it was difficult when they shared some of the same classes. Her attention would stray from what the teacher was saying as her gaze drifted all around the room before eventually landing upon Sam. Just her crazy luck to get some crazy crush on someone she knew would never like her back.

"Please," Paulina said with a flip of her ebony hair. "Why would I be scared of heights?"

"Then what was that shudder?" Sam lifted an eyebrow. "Cold?"

Paulina folded her arms, rubbing her hand over a bare bicep. It was a bit chilly now that they weren't huddled in the thick crowd of people waiting to get on the roller coaster. "Maybe I should have brought a coat," she mumbled and wished for a different reason that she was with either Dash or Kwan on the ride. How was she supposed to have any fun on the ride with the woman she liked who hated her in return? Now she was shivering on top of that.

Sam sighed as she shifted beside Paulina. "Here," she offered, wiggling one arm out of her coat. "I think it should be big enough to allow us both to use it to stay warm."

Paulina stared hesitantly at the coat, not sure that it was a good idea to do anything that would involve her being pressed up against Sam. But the thought of being warm was too enticing. She shifted over to squeeze next to the Goth woman as she tugged the coat around her. It was just big enough to allow them to share it, but now her side was crushed next to Sam. Paulina tried to focus on the ride as they reached the top and slowly slid over the curve, but her attention kept straying back to Sam. Her gaze drifted down the pale neck to the low neckline of the black blouse Sam wore. The other woman didn't often wear something that showed off her cleavage that much, and Paulina wondered if perhaps Sam wore it to impress Danny. She sighed, knowing that was another reason to give up on the Goth woman. Sam liked Danny.

"See something you like?" Sam whispered into her ear, gaining a gasp from Paulina.

"W-What?" Paulina felt like her stomach dropped right out of her, and she wasn't sure if that was from Sam catching her or from the sudden speed as the car descended down the steep slope.

Sam laughed, and Paulina found her gaze drawn back to the woman's chest with that action. "You keep staring, so," she shifted, turning more toward Paulina, as best as car allowed, "I wondered if you liked what you saw."

Paulina had difficulty concentrating with Sam's body pressed right up against her and the warm breath washing over her ear and neck and watching the way Sam's chest rose and fell with each breath. "Damn, Sam!" she breathed out, feeling Sam's mouth stretch into a smirk against the curve of her ear. "Do you have any idea how crazy you're driving me?"

"Hopefully about as crazy as you've been driving me the past month."

"What?" Paulina turned her head, blinking in surprise.

Sam laughed and rolled her eyes. "You can't really be that oblivious. Why else would I make sure to sit next to you in all our classes? Do you think it was really just a coincidence that I told Danny to take a car with Tucker right after Dash and Kwan ditched you? I mean, really, why else would I have even agreed to get into this car with you?"

"But-" Paulina felt like her head was spinning. "But I thought you hated me! I thought you and Danny-"

"Danny and I haven't been a thing in ages." Sam leaned closer, smirking. "Not since I told him I was gay." She moved in, giving Paulina plenty of time to turn away, before she pressed their mouths together.

Maybe this ride would be fun after all, Paulina thought as she returned the kiss.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had trouble with this one as the other theme was kink, and that is not my forte but I tried to sort of work it in there.


	13. Babysitting

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Summary: Everything was going fine. They were having a nice time watching over the child. Then one little mistake ruined the happy, peaceful day.  
> Characters: Vlad x Danny

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A little The Target afterward story.

"Why did you agree to this?" Vlad asked, wishing for some earplugs as he listened to the child screaming his lungs out.

"You're not exactly helping," Danny growled through clenched teeth, patting the boy on the back as he rocked back and forth in an attempt to soothe him. He made the mistake earlier of floating up through the floor from the basement after putting a load of laundry into the washer. The boy took one look at Phantom and started crying. Danny immediately switched back to his human form and tried to comfort the child, but nothing was working. "It's okay, Eric. Shh, there's nothing to be scared of."

"Perhaps we should make it a rule that we don't use ghost powers while you're babysitting for your sister," Vlad suggested, glancing through some of his files. With the money he saved up, Vlad bought a local company in Amity Park, utilizing their development in various technological areas to design ghost hunting equipment that would stun and trap rather than harm the ghosts. It was to help support Jack and Maddie's attempts to create peace between humans and ghosts. The relations thus far were developing quite nicely, though many of the residents were hesitant about allowing ghosts to stay in their town. They were gathering more people to train them in how to fight a ghost, if one were to turn violent for any number reasons. It wasn't an easy process, and several people called for the Guys in White to return, but they were gaining more supporters every year as some residents interacted with the ghosts and learned that they weren't all evil and violent. The mayor even wanted to call Cujo their town mascot, and the children especially loved the playful puppy ghost.

"Vlad, can you put work aside for two seconds and help me?" Danny frowned, frustration showing in his face. "My nephew hates me!"

"He doesn't hate you." Vlad set aside the papers and stood up. Walking over to where the other man stood, he ran his hand over the soft auburn hair of the boy's head.

"He does!" Danny sighed in exhaustion. "Sometimes I think things were easier when I was acting as a bodyguard."

"Nonsense." Vlad carefully took the child from Danny, whose arms dropped to his side like noodles. "You were doing just fine with him until you used your ghost powers." He directed his attention to the boy. "Maybe little Eric would feel better if we got him a treat." He smiled as the screaming faded somewhat and the boy turned curious blue eyes onto him. "Your mommy wouldn't be mad if we gave you a little bit of ice cream, would she?"

Fat tears rolled down the boy's cheeks, but Eric shook his head.

"You can't just bribe him with ice cream," Danny argued.

"Why not? It got him to calm down." Vlad strode past his young lover and into the kitchen. "A small spoonful of ice cream isn't going to do a lifetime of damage to him. No matter what your sister's psychology books might say." He glanced over his shoulder to see Danny grumpily standing in the doorway. "Though appearing as a ghost in front of him might."

"That was an accident!" Danny's face flushed red.

When he reached the refrigerator, Vlad set Eric down on his feet then opened the freezer to pull out the tub of vanilla ice cream. "Can you reach the spoons?" he questioned the boy, who nodded and trotted over to the drawer where the spoons were kept. Eric reached up and pulled the drawer open part way, but he was still too short to actually reach the spoons inside it.

"Here you go," Danny said as he took one of the spoons then crouched down before Eric. The boy looked hesitant for a moment, and both men feared he would start crying again. But then Eric accepted the spoon and hurried back to Vlad with a bright smile on his face.

"See? He doesn't hate you." Vlad smirked as he spooned out some ice cream for the boy. "Now don't eat it too fast, or it'll make your head hurt."

Eric nodded then took a big lick from his spoonful.

"I think it's the Baxter genes," Danny said, balancing his elbows on his knees. "Dash didn't like me at first."

"Hm, but he came around after thinking you died."

Danny frowned, tilting his head then nodded. "Yeah, I guess that's true." He shook his head with a breathy laugh. "I still can't believe Jazz married Dash though." A smile spread onto his face as he rested his chin in his hand, and he stared at Vlad. "Then again, before meeting you, I never thought I'd be happy to be in a relationship with a man. And one that's old enough to be my father at that."

"Do you regret it?" Vlad's mouth curved downward as he watched Danny's expression carefully, looking for any hint of doubt or hesitation.

"Not for a second." Danny grinned widely, and Vlad returned it.


	14. Holiday

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Summary: Christmas might not have been his favorite holiday growing up, but Danny found it a lot more enjoyable now that he was an adult.  
> Characters: Danny x Sam

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A little pre-Doctor Dash story.

"Any minute now," Danny murmured, still half asleep as he lay in bed with his arms wrapped around his wife. He was counting the seconds in his head even as he tried to fall fully back to sleep.

"Is it morning already?" Sam whispered grumpily. Mornings still weren't her favorite things, and she was usually best avoided until she had her morning cup of coffee to fight off the frustration of having to wake up before the sun even rose to prepare everything before she left for work at the law firm.

"Feels like we just crawled into bed, doesn't it?" Danny chuckled, his breath washing over her bare neck. They both fell silent when they heard the creak of their bedroom door opening. They lay still in the bed, pretending to still be asleep as the soft footsteps crept closer.

"It's Christmas!" shouted their five year old son as he jumped onto the bed.

"Oh my!" Danny responded, pretending to be surprised by his son as he sat up in bed. "Is it Christmas already?"

The little boy nodded his head with an excited grin on his face as his blond locks flopped about from the vigorous motion. "Can we open presents now?"

"Hm." Danny placed a finger to his lips as he tilted his head in a look of pondering over the question. "Do you think Santa came last night? You know," he leaned forward and his son copied him as Danny lowered his voice as if sharing a secret with the boy, "Santa won't come if you've been a naughty boy during the year."

His son's mouth hung open, looking horrified at the thought of not getting presents. "But I was good!"

"Were you?" Danny sat back, eying his son like he suspected otherwise, but the boy nodded again. "Well! Then I guess we better go see what Santa brought you!" Danny scooped up his son into his arms as he climbed out of bed.

"You two can get started on that." Grabbing her robe, Sam slid out of bed with a yawn. "I'll get breakfast started. And the coffee." She nodded as she pulled on the robe and tied the belt about her waist. "Definitely coffee."

"No!" their son whined, pouting as Danny followed Sam out of their bedroom. "We can't open presents without you."

"Well, I'm making coffee first at least." Sam turned and headed straight for the kitchen as soon as they hit the ground floor of their house.

"Think you can wait?" Danny questioned, lifting a curious eyebrow at his son.

The boy frowned, pushing out his lower lip, but he nodded. A smile tugged at Danny's mouth as he carried the boy into the front room where their tree was. As soon as his son saw the tree, or more importantly the presents under the tree, he gasped in awe, eager excitement sparkling in his blue eyes.

"You might have to wait on present opening," Danny said as he set the boy down on his feet, "but you can grab your stocking and look at what goodies Santa left you." He chuckled as his son hurried across the room to the fireplace, climbed on the stool set up beside it, and pulled his stocking free from the hook. While his son ransacked the stocking for all the hidden goodies, and an orange, Danny headed over to the tree and plugged in the lights of all different colors. "Did you get anything good?" he asked when he turned back to his son.

The boy nodded, trying to pry open the wrapper from a candy cane. There were a few other treats in the stocking. As it was a holiday, they decided to allow their son to have a few sweets. Other than the orange, there was also a small rocket ship model and a little army man to add to his set.

In a few moments, Sam entered the front room with a steaming cup of coffee in her hands. She took a sip as she walked over to join them around the tree and sighed out as the bitter heat woke her up. "Okay. We can begin now."

"Good. We should try to get this finished before you know who shows up and tries to steal all of them." Danny chuckled. He didn't need to say the name, because Sam knew exactly who he meant, and he feared speaking the name would somehow summon the Box Ghost to come to his house and delight in all the wrapped boxes. "Let's see." He scanned through the pile before finding a present about the size of a shoe box. "Here's one from Grandma and Grandpa Fenton." He handed the present to his son. He didn't even need to look at the label on it that read: To Lex, From Grandma and Grandpa to know that it was from his parents. The Jack Fenton Christmas wrapping paper gave it away.

Lex wasted no time tearing into the wrapping paper and prying it away from the box beneath it.

"Oh no," Sam groaned when Lex flipped open the lid of the box to see what treasure laid inside it.

"Oh, he updated them!" Danny excitedly picked up the Jack Fenton action figure while Lex held up the Maddie Fenton action figure.

"I can add these to yours and Aunt Jazz and Uncle Tuck's!" Lex grinned, hugging the Maddie doll to his chest.

Sam sighed, shaking her head. "I guess there's no helping it. He's definitely your son." She smirked as her two boys forgot about the rest of the presents while playing with the action figures.


	15. Skeletons in the Closet

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Summary: There have been many changes in the twenty years since high school, but Tucker's about to get a big surprise.  
> Characters: Tucker x Danielle

Tucker checked his reflection in the mirror. The hair on his chin was nicely groomed, and his head recently shaved. He wore his fancy, cool guy glasses that he thought made him look less like the nerdy techno geek that he was back in high school. He was, of course, still a techno geek, and his friends and family still thought his love technology bordered on obsession. But hey! What did that matter? Because of his knowledge in the field and all the tech courses he took in school, he was able to get a great job with a big fat paycheck. He nodded to his reflection. Yes, he had no reason to be terrified of his twentieth high school reunion. Other than his friends, he didn't keep up with news on the rest of their classmates. But he definitely wasn't going to allow the jocks to harass him and make him feel bad about himself when he had a good life.

"Hurry up! We're going to be late!"

His mouth stretched into a wide grin when he heard the woman's shout from the front hall. Beyond a successful job, he had a beautiful wife too. Tucker checked over his suit one last time, making sure there were no wrinkles or lingering bits of fluff or lint clinging to it anywhere. When he was certain there was nothing embarrassing about his appearance, he stepped out of the bathroom and headed toward the front hall where his wife waited for him.

She was a lovely vision in the baby blue sundress with spaghetti straps that reached to just above her knees. Her raven hair was drawn to one side, bound by a clip with blue flowers on it, that spilled over her shoulder in loose curls. Marrying her was the happiest day of Tucker's life. He strode down the hall then placed a hand on the small of her back as he leaned in to kiss her on the cheek.

"Don't forget the coats," she said, giving him a smile before she turned to the door of their apartment.

"You couldn't have gotten them out while I was getting ready?" Tucker shook his head, the corner of his mouth tugging upward as he pulled open the door to the hall closet. Something fell the moment the door opened all the way, and his response took a second before he screamed out, slamming the door shut again. He pressed his back against the closet door as if that could stop the horrors from getting him. His heart hammered in his chest, and if he hadn't shaved his head bald, he was certain most of his hair would have turned gray from the fright.

Blue eyes blinked at him before the woman began laughing until tears gathered in the corners of her eyes. "Oh! Your reaction!" She wiped at her eyes. "I wish I had a camera to capture that moment!"

"Danielle!" Tucker growled, not finding the situation as amusing. "You nearly gave me a heart attack! Why would you put a skeleton in our hall closet?"

Elle rolled her eyes, still grinning madly. "Duh! It was a prank. How did you like the nurse's uniform?"

"That only made it a thousand times more terrifying!" Tucker shouted. Despite the years that passed, he still never really got over his fear of hospitals. The time he went in to help Danny after Spectra infected the students of Casper High with her little ghost bugs was the last time he managed to force himself to enter a hospital.

"Hm." Elle frowned with a thoughtful expression. "I guess that's even more reason to look for an alternative for where to go when I go into labor."

"What?" Tucker's green eyes widened to the size of saucers as he gaped at her. "What do you mean go into labor?"

Elle stared back with some surprise in her eyes. "I guess you didn't read the message on the skeleton."

"I was too busy having a heart attack!"

Elle looked a little abashed as she stepped up closer to him. "Oh," she said in a soft voice with her head slightly bowed. "Well, I went to the doctor last week, and," she lifted her head with a tentative smile, "I'm pregnant."

Tucker's mouth worked up and down for a moment, failing to think of any words to say. Elle was pregnant? They were going to have a child together? He was going to be a father? Tucker swept her into his arms, lifting her feet off the ground as he hugged her and kissed her. "I don't believe it! This is amazing! Did you tell Danny yet?"

"No!" Elle laughed as she wrapped her arms around his neck. "Why would I tell him before you, silly?" She smiled as she pressed her forehead to his. "But I'm a little worried." Her smile faltered, and she bit her lower lip. "Even without your fear of hospitals, I don't know that it would be good to have the child there. What if he or she has powers? What if they act up after being born? We don't need that kind of attention."

"Don't worry." Tucker squeezed his arms around her. "We'll figure it out. Danny can help come up with something. And I hate to say it, but there's always Vlad too."

Elle nodded. "Yeah," she said quietly, then in a louder, firmer voice, "yeah. I guess I'm just a little anxious over what crazy things could happen while pregnant." When Tucker set her down on her feet again, Elle held a hand over her stomach. "I don't even know if it's possible for the baby to have powers in the womb, assuming that it inherits any of my ghost DNA, but if it does-" Her brow creased with worry.

"It's going to be okay," Tucker assured her, placing his hands on her shoulders. "We can talk to Danny about it when we get to the reunion." His gaze drifted hesitantly toward the closet. "Uh, can you get the coats?"

Elle rolled her eyes with a teasing grin tugging at her mouth. "Yes, oh brave husband." She chuckled as Tucker blushed, and she opened the closet door, keeping the scary nurse skeleton from his sight as she grabbed their coats. Then they left their apartment to head to the reunion.


	16. Photo Booth

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Summary: Danny and Valerie share a quiet moment while hiding out.  
> Characters: Danny x Valerie

"Hurry, hurry, hurry!" Danny said, dragging the woman along behind him as they pushed their way through the crowd.

"I can't keep going!" Valerie gasped out, sounding winded as she stumbled when the shoulders of the passing people rammed into her.

Danny glanced around, his eyes darting about the area for any safe haven that might allow them the chance to rest for a moment. "There!" He made a beeline for the spot he found and pulled Valerie into the photo booth with him. It was a tight space, and Valerie had to practically sit in his lap to fit inside it. But with the curtain drawn, they were well out of sight of those around them. "Is he coming?"

Valerie pulled the curtain open a crack and took a tentative glance around at the people milling about through the mall. "I don't see him yet," she whispered back. "Ugh, he just had to ruin everything, didn't he?"

Danny leaned back against the wall. "That Nathan doesn't give up, huh?" He shook his head, thinking back over the last four years and the number of times Valerie had to hide from the other man.

"Apparently no doesn't exist in his vocabulary," Valerie grumbled, folding her arms with a sour expression on her face. "I was nice him, like what, one time? All of a sudden that means we _must_ be a perfect match and gives him every right to basically stalk me?" She scowled darkly in the direction of the booth's camera. "He should be lucky I decide to run away and hide from him rather than kicking him in the balls and beating the crap out of him."

"So," Danny said awkwardly, turning his gaze away, "where does that put us?"

Valerie blinked several times before she turned her green eyes onto him. "What do you mean?"

"Well, I just-" Danny shrugged uncertainly, trying to figure out exactly what it was that he wanted to say. "I don't want to assume anything, and I don't want you to feel pressured into saying yes to anything." He shifted, as best as he could, under her with his hands resting on the seat to his sides, keeping them well away from touching Valerie anywhere inappropriate.

Valerie rolled her eyes, a smirk slanting across her face. "I would have decked you if you'd done something I didn't like." She leaned her head toward him, staring into the bright blue of his eyes. "Now remind me again why you didn't just use your powers to get us out of there?"

Danny tilted his head to one side. "Well, Nathan had already seen us." He chuckled. "I wasn't about to let him be in the know about my powers. I like keeping that to a small circle of trusted people."

"Hm, excellent point, ghost boy." Valerie nodded in approval of that response. "No one can see us now. So how about you fly us out of here?"

"Wait!" Danny dug a hand into his pocket, groping around until he found a quarter. "One photo set." He held up the quarter with a grin. "You know, to commemorate our first date."

"We've dated before, Danny." Valerie rolled her eyes as Danny inserted the coin into the slot on the wall across from them. "Remember the whole Ferris wheel thing and the lights on the building with our initials in a heart?"

"Yeah, but this is our first date not manipulated by a ghost," Danny said then froze before snapping his head around to Valerie as the first picture flashed. "Not that that whole thing was fake or something because I really did like you. But Technus was kind of manipulating everything so that we'd be too busy with each other to allow him the chance to hack into the satellite."

Valerie laughed and reached up to ruffle his hair with both hands as the second flash filled the booth. "I was there too. I know how things went, and I'm not mad over that anymore. I," she tilted her head until they bumped foreheads during a third flash, "liked you then too."

"Can I kiss you?"

Valerie sighed out a short laugh before she leaned down to catch his mouth in a short, sweet kiss. Neither of them paid attention as the final picture flashed, too busy enjoying the brief kiss.


	17. Vacation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Summary: Sam has an unexpected encounter while trying to relax during her vacation.  
> Characters: Kwan x Sam

Sam relaxed back against the lounge chair, happy to discover the beach had a nice shady spot where she could relax. Hawaii wasn't exactly her first choice of where to go on vacation, but her parents didn't take her opinion into account when planning out where the family went. She, of course, would have preferred to go where they were hosting this year's Gothapalooza. There wasn't much she could do about that now, so she was left to try and enjoy her time there, well out of the sun and away from the rest of her family. Her parents were bad. Her twin cousins that were dressed up like porcelain dolls were the stuff of nightmares.

"Is that really you?"

Sam cracked open an eye and pushed herself onto her elbows as she glanced over the top of her sunglasses. Her eyebrows rose up a notch as she stared at the tall, broad shouldered jock standing before, helping by blocking out more of the sun. From the darkened color of his skin, he had spent much of his time already playing out in the sun.

"Man, I never would have imagined meeting you here." Kwan grabbed one of the spare lounge chairs and dragged it closer to where she sat. "I thought you didn't do the whole fun in the sun thing."

"As you can see, I'm not in the sun," Sam said as she reached into her bag next to her chair, "and I have a book if I want some fun." She showed the book to him before putting it back into her bag.

Kwan chuckled as he shook his head, shaggy raven hair that was longer than she remembered seeing him wear at school flopping about from the action. "It's so weird bumping into you here. Family vacation, huh?"

"You too?" Sam wasn't sure why she was curious, but she had to admit Kwan, despite the annoyance he was when he got kicked from the A list in freshman year, was far better to talk to then her Stepford cousins, who considered her uniqueness to be the stuff of sins.

"My aunt's getting remarried, and she wanted to have her wedding here." Kwan shrugged as he leaned back on his hands. "I get to play one of the groomsmen." Kwan glanced around, his aqua green eyes sweeping over the beach that had dozens of other people laying out in the sun or playing beach volleyball. There was one guy throwing a Frisbee for his golden retriever. Other people were out in the water, swimming and surfing. "Hey," Kwan turned his gaze back onto Sam with a tentative, shy look, "I know this great little vegetarian place if you want to check it out."

Sam's brow creased. Was that a blush she saw on his cheeks? She blinked a few times, trying to process everything. Was Kwan asking her out on a date? The last time they went anywhere alone ended in disaster, and she was still banned from the Skulk and Lurk bookstore.

"Sammikins!"

Sam cringed at her mother's voice and the horrible nickname that she begged her mother not to call her, especially in public. She grabbed the wrap from her bag, tying it around her waist as she got to her feet. "Let's go!" she said, grabbing her bag and Kwan's arm and basically dragging him with her away from where she could hear her mother.

"Not entirely into the whole family vacation thing, huh?" Kwan chuckled as they walked alongside each other, and he directed them toward the little vegetarian restaurant that he knew.

"The vacation part, I don't mind. It's the family part that drives me up the wall." Sam felt like screaming sometimes when she was around her family. "My bubala is cool, but my parents," she gave a shudder, "seem to think that because I'm a girl, I should only like _girl_ things. I should only want to wear frilly pink dresses and talk about hair and makeup, like my _cousins_." She sneered as she mentioned the twins.

"Your parents really shouldn't force stuff like that on you." Kwan frowned as he listened to her rant. "My dad used to hate it when I was more interested in picking up a needle and sewing stuff then doing what he considered _boy_ things." He shrugged. "Yeah, I did kind of join football when I was little to please him, but after meeting Dash and becoming friends with him, I actually started to like football." He leaned closer to her, a smile on his face as he whispered into her ears. "It helped that Dash also likes to sew. We have sewing parties with each other sometimes."

"Get out!" Sam laughed at the idea of Dash working on some cross stitching project, but her cheeks flushed lightly at the feel of Kwan's breath washing over her ear and neck.

"But you didn't hear that from me." Kwan leaned back with a secretive grin. When they reached the vegetarian restaurant, Kwan pulled the door open for her.

Sam started to walk in but paused to turn back to the jock. "You know, I think I misjudged you."

Kwan lifted his eyebrows curiously. "Is that good or bad?"

"Good." Sam wore a smirk as she entered the restaurant with Kwan following after her.


	18. Nightmares

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Summary: She always hated when he left.  
> Characters: Danny x Star

She jerked awake suddenly, sitting up in her bed as she glanced about the room. It was still fairly dark, still the middle of the night, and only a thin stream of light escaped below the bathroom door. The blankets rustled as she climbed out of bed and shivered as a wave of coldness hit her. Then she padded over to the bathroom door and pushed it open.

"Danny," she said, frowning as she watched the man shaving his face. His raven hair started to turn white along the sides, and he was a lot more muscular than the scrawny teen he was in high school.

He turned his head away from the mirror, his face still dotted with shaving cream. "Did I wake you?" Danny winced as he rinsed his razor under the rush of water from the faucet. Once he set the razor aside, he grabbed a towel to clean his face of shaving cream. "Sorry. I tried to be quiet. I have to get to the base and prepare for the mission."

She rolled her eyes as she stepped closer to him and wrapped her arms around his neck. She had to stand on her toes to reach him because he had grown so tall. "Of course, I wanted to say goodbye before you left. You'll be gone for half a year." She frowned as she stared into his bright blue eyes. "I'm not going to be able to sleep the whole time."

"Six months will go by before you even know it. This isn't my first mission." Danny hugged his arms around her waist.

She pushed out her lower lip in a pout. "But I always have nightmares when you're gone. There's a lot of things that could go wrong. And you'll be in space! No one can help you when you're all the way out there if something went wrong."

"You watched one of those space movies where everyone dies because of some freak incident, didn't you?" Danny tilted his head down toward her, giving her that accusatory look.

She flushed as she turned her gaze away. "Maybe just one."

Danny sighed, his expression relaxing. "Star, it's going to be fine. We haven't had any accidents with the new space station, and we intend to keep it that way. Everything is running perfectly. There are no signs that some freak meteor shower or something is going to interfere with the mission." He reached up to cup her face in his hands. "I promise I will return in six months." He tilted his head forward and kissed her gently on the forehead. "After all, I wouldn't want to miss the birth of my own child."

"Ugh," Star groaned. "I have to go through nightmares _and_ pregnancy alone for six months?" They only found out the month before that she was pregnant, but Danny had trained for the mission to the space station for the last three months. Star didn't want to stomp all over his dreams by forcing him to stay behind with her, but thinking about the next six months alone left her wanting to grab hold of Danny and never let him go.

"It won't be that bad." Danny chuckled lightly. "And if you need any help, Jazz is just a phone call away. She's already had two babies, so she knows what you should be expecting over the next six months and can tell you exactly what sort of things we need to prepare for when the baby's born." Jazz happened to live in the same town as they did, which made her the best choice to contact on matters of babies since her house was only about an hour's drive away from them.

Star sighed as she rested her head against his chest. "I know. I'm just going to miss you so much."

"I'm going to miss you too." Danny kissed the top of her head as he squeezed his arms comfortingly around her. The next six months were really going to suck, in Star's opinion.


	19. Friends

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Summary: Sometimes, all it takes is asking.  
> Characters: Youngblood x Danielle

His eyes drifted to the right, finding the woman at his side more interesting to watch than the concert going on before them. He couldn't remember how long he existed as a ghost, but he never thought he would care to grow up and stop acting like the child he was stuck as for so many years. Meeting Danielle Phantom was a lot more entertaining to him than encountering her stiff "I got a stick up my bum" cousin Danny Phantom. Elle actually enjoyed playing with him and pulling pranks on other people. All harmless pranks, of course, but no less hilarious to watch the people's reactions. They became fast friends.

But Elle grew up, much like her cousin, and Youngblood found he was allowing himself to grow up alongside her. He didn't want her to cast him aside as something childish that she outgrew. He wanted to stay friends with her, but growing up had its consequences. Their prankster personalities hadn't changed much, but they were maturing in other aspects of whom they were. Elle developed into a lovely young woman, a fact that Youngblood took notice of more and more as they spent time together. That was something new for him. He didn't really care for girls before he met Elle, except maybe Ember but that was because the rocker ghost helped him out when he tried to utilize the parents of Amity Park to power his ghost ship.

But Elle was different. Elle was fun to hang out with, and they always had a great time together. Youngblood wiped his hands on his pants. Ghosts didn't particularly sweat, but it was a remembered habit of nervousness to him. He wanted to be more than simply friends with Elle. It took him some time to realize the strange feelings twisting around inside him, but he thought he was finally beginning to understand what these new emotions were.

Chewing on his lower lip, Youngblood reached out his hand and laced his fingers with Elle, who was wearing fingerless white gloves. He flushed lightly when Elle turned her gaze onto him, green eyes staring in puzzlement at him. She leaned toward him, having to shout in his ear to be heard over the noise of the concert.

"You've been acting strange today. Is something wrong?" Elle frowned with some concern.

Youngblood began to think this was perhaps a bad time to start talking about his feelings when it was hard enough to hear anything beyond the band's music and the shouts of the crowd. Elle tilted her head at him, waiting for a response. Her short white hair was slicked back on the sides and spiked up somewhat on the top with a few locks of her bangs falling down into her eyes. Youngblood hesitated then dragged Elle through the crowd with him as he headed toward the exit of the stadium.

"What's going on?" Elle asked once they were alone outside in the quiet of the Ghost Zone.

"Um, well," Youngblood mumbled, dropping his gaze as he rubbed at the back of his neck. "I just, um... I like you."

Elle laughed. "I like you too." She reached over and bumped a fist lightly against his shoulder.

Youngblood shook his head. Why was this so hard to say to her? "No, I mean I _like_ you." His cheeks warmed as he tentatively glanced up at her. "Like the more than friends kind of like."

Elle stared as if his announcement struck her like a ton of bricks. "Oh." That wasn't exactly the reaction he was hoping for from her, but he should have known she probably didn't see him as anything but a friend. "So was this supposed to be our first date?"

Youngblood's eyes widened, and for a moment, words failed him as he tried to think of how to answer. "I - well, I hadn't planned it to be. I mean, it doesn't have to be if you don't want it to be."

Elle laughed. "If you want to ask me out, just do it."

Youngblood blushed darkly. "Do you want to go out with me?"

"I'd love to." Elle smiled, and Youngblood swore something like a heart skipped a beat inside him.


	20. Sick Day

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Summary: Danny returns home after work to find Paulina hasn't exactly followed his orders.  
> Characters: Danny x Paulina

Danny quietly made his way up the stairs and down the hall to the bedroom. When he reached the closed door, he readjusted his hold on the tray in his hands so that he could open the door. A smile spread onto his face as he entered the bedroom, but it fell as he paused and frowned at the woman in bed.

"You were supposed to rest, Paulina," Danny said with a hint of scolding in his voice as he walked over to the bed. After setting the tray down on the nightstand, he sat down on the bed.

"I just have-" Paulina was interrupted by a violent sneeze that left her coughing and wheezing and sniffling. Danny cringed at the noises she was making. Her nose was red with a bit of icky goop dripping from her nostrils after that sneeze. Her ebony hair was a frizzy mess sticking out in odd directions, so very unlike the shiny, smooth locks of how she usually styled her hair. "I have to get this finished," Paulina finished and grabbed a tissue from the box to blow her nose.

Danny closed the laptop and carried it across the room to place on the dresser. "Working is not resting." He turned around and placed his hands on his hips as he frowned at her. "You need your rest if you're going to get better."

"But laying around in bed all day is so boring," Paulina complained, falling back onto the cushy pillows. "What was I supposed to do, sleep the whole day? And that report is supposed be finished by tomorrow." She pointed toward the laptop as her mouth pulled downward. "Just because I'm sick, that doesn't mean I can't get that finished and e-mail it to my boss."

Danny sighed as he walked over to the bed and started gathering up all the used tissues spread out over the bed. "I love how passionate you are about your work." He smiled fondly as he dumped the tissues into the garbage can by the bed. "But I also want you to get better as soon as possible." He returned to the bed and took a seat. "I brought you a fresh box of tissues." He showed her the unopened box that was on the tray.

"Oh good!" Paulina sat up quickly and grabbed at the box to tuck it next to her on the bed. "I was almost out."

"I figured." Danny chuckled then reached over to pick up the tray. "I made some nice hot chicken soup, and I thought you might like a little ice cream." He waited until she got comfortable and rested the tray in her lap.

"What would I do without you?" Paulina picked up the spoon resting beside the bowl of soup. "I tried to eat some lunch, but my stomach didn't agree with it."

"Is there a mess I have to clean up in the bathroom?" Danny cringed at the thought.

Paulina shook her head, half smiling as she blew on the spoonful of soup. "No, I managed to make it to the toilet in time."

"Oh good." Danny breathed out a sigh of relief. "Last night sure wasn't fun."

Paulina cringed. "Yeah, sorry about that."

"Don't worry about it." Danny shook his head with a small smile. "You just focus on getting better and leave everything else to me."

"You're way too nice sometimes, Danny."

"You'd do the same if I was the one that was sick." Danny shrugged like everything he had done since Paulina woke up in the middle of the night was no big deal. He felt bad about having to go to work while his wife stayed at home sick, but he couldn't take the day off with a big presentation that day.

"I don't know," Paulina said with some uncertainty as her nose wrinkled. "Cleaning up vomit is kind of... ew."

Danny laughed and nodded his agreement. "Yeah, it kind of is." They smiled at each other as Danny laced his fingers with Paulina's free hand as she continued to slowly eat the meal he brought her.


	21. Grim Reaper (Death)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Summary: He wasn't supposed to fall in love with her, but sometimes love just happens.  
> Characters: Phantom x Valerie

Valerie Gray, currently the age of twenty-five and working at call center while seeking better employment. She sat on her bed in her cramped apartment with the newspaper spread around her. She circled various job opportunities with the red marker in her hand. On occasion, she would start to circle another ad then shake her head and scribble it out with the marker. She was very determined to get out of the rut after being fired from her last job and forced to take up the position at the call center just to make ends meet until she could find a job that would pay far better, with good hours, and a lot less stress.

Phantom bumped into her on a few occasions. He was allowed to do that, though he was probably bending the rules close to breaking them by the number of times he had spoken to her under the guise of being human. Sometimes, they were allowed to interact with the mortals to better judge their souls and determine if they were ready. The first time he spoke with her, it was meant to be as innocent as the rest. She was only twenty-two at that time and working at a restaurant at the time. That made it much easier to stage an encounter. All he had to do was wait until he would be seated in her section, and he would be able to speak with her as she waited on him. She seemed quite friendly, and he rather liked her spirit.

The job lasted until about half a year ago, when some men got a bit too tipsy and thought it was well within their right to grab at her in inappropriate ways. Phantom wasn't allowed to act in times like that, even if he truly wished to interfere. He was meant to be an observant bystander, not to interact with the mortals far too much, and he already done plenty of "too much" interaction when it came to her. Valerie hardly needed his help, though. She had one man on his back in a matter of seconds before she grabbed the other man's wandering hand and twisted the arm around to the point of nearly snapping it. He was left breathless, despite not needing to breathe, at her quick, graceful, and strong movements to take down the men harassing her. Naturally, however, her boss couldn't allow her to continue working there after assaulting two customers, despite how much they deserved what they got. Phantom couldn't interrupt that natural flow, but he was allowed to be there to console her after she left the restaurant. He listened to her angry rants, and he tried his best to be helpful. When she ran out of steam, Valerie thanked him for simply being there, and Phantom felt something he never had. He never received thanks in his line of work. And who would thank him? People, generally, didn't wish to die.

"You're doing a very poor job."

Phantom jumped at the voice and felt a chill run through him. He tore his green eyes away from the woman and hesitantly drew them to the one who appeared randomly beside him. "Clockwork! What are you doing out of your tower?"

Clockwork leaned on his staff, the wispy tail below him flicking lazily back and forth. "You're three years late on reaping her soul." His red eyes pierced into him as if his gaze alone could strip away everything that Phantom was. "It should have been quite an easy task. Any beginner could have accomplished it by now. Why the delay?"

Phantom drew up his knees like he perched on an invisible shelf as his gaze turned back to Valerie. Clockwork hardly needed to ask when he knew all of time. "I don't think I can take her life," he said in a small voice, arms hugging about his knees.

Clockwork nodded. "I thought this would be the way time would flow." He waited until Danny turned to him again. "You love her."

Phantom jerked up, nearly falling out of the air from his shock. He never heard of a reaper falling in love, and most definitely never with a mortal. But now that it was said out loud, he began to understand that strange draw toward the woman. He had seen it often enough with other mortals. That longing desire to be near them for no other reason than their presence felt like home. That wish to be something more than just friends, as they had slowly become since that first meeting.

"But if you knew, why did you allow it?" Phantom's brow creased as he tried to puzzle out the Master of Time's motives. "Isn't it not allowed for us to love mortals? You could have prevented that by assigning someone else to her."

"True." A smirk tugged at Clockwork's mouth. "But I also know how things would have gone had you not met her." He frowned darkly, gazing across the apartment but not seeming to be seeing what lay before him. "A grim future indeed."

"I don't understand." Phantom frowned, wishing Clockwork wouldn't be so cryptic all the time.

"Naturally." Clockwork turned to face the young reaper. "It's not often that your kind finds love. It's a rare thing, and in most cases, it can corrupt and turn a reaper into something dark." He surveyed Phantom with his red gaze. "You, however, seem to be among the rare few that isn't affected in that manner. I shall allow your relationship with this young Miss Gray."

"What?" Phantom gasped out, almost not believing the words the wise, ancient being said.

"There are conditions, however." Clockwork raised a hand to stop any premature celebration. "You must explain to her exactly what you are. If she is unable to accept it, I shall reset this time and assign someone else to do the job you cannot. You, however," his mouth pulled thin, "will be imprisoned. Are you willing to potentially sacrifice your own freedom for this?"

Phantom hardly hesitated for a second. "I am."

"Then I believe you have a conversation to start." Clockwork smirked mysteriously before vanishing in a swirl of a large clock hand.

Phantom phased into the hallway and checked that no one was around before shifting into a visible appearance. He swallowed nervously as he raised his hand and knocked upon the door. After several moments that left him sweating unnaturally, the door opened, and a smile appeared on his face as he stared at the woman.

"Where have you been?" Valerie drew him into a fierce hug, and Phantom wrapped his arms around her. "I feel like you've been gone for ages."

"It's only been a month," Phantom reminded her with a laugh.

Valerie rolled her green eyes that sparkled like emeralds. "Yeah, yeah. So maybe I missed you a touch." She stepped aside to allow him to enter her apartment before closing the door behind them. "What brings you by?"

Phantom stared at her as a hint of worry wove itself through his entire being. What if Valerie rejected him and they both suffered the consequences of that reaction? No, he couldn't think like that! She would accept him. He had to believe in that. "There's something I must tell you."


	22. Formal Attire

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Summary: Paulina was certain this would be another dreaded ball that she had no choice but to attend.  
> Characters: Phantom x Paulina; and Valerie

Paulina sighed as she awaited her turn to be announced. She wore a lovely pink dress that was designed just for her with a nice form fitting bodice and long flowing skirt. Her long ebony hair was done up, and her bare shoulders felt cold without her hair spilling down over them like usual. A tiara sat atop her head, indicating her status as a princess. Now she attended yet another ball where she would have to dance with yet another prince and pretend to laugh at all his jokes, that he naturally thought were hilarious but really were cruel and not humorous in the slightest bit.

When she was little, her dream was to grow up and marry a handsome prince and live happily ever after like in all the fairy tales. Princes in real life, it turned out, weren't these perfect beings that the fairy tales spoke of with their lies. Many of the princes she met at these types of balls liked to use the opportunity of the forced dances to grope at the princess. That was one of the many reasons none of them would choose her as their bride. The moment any of them dared to grab at her ass or her breasts, she would ram her knee into his groin.

Princess Valerie always enjoyed those moments, but she had the same response to a misbehaving prince. They were great friends, their kingdoms having grown closer over the past eight years. Since they were ten, they spent plenty of time studying together in order to become the great queens that they would one day be. Sparring and fencing weren't exactly Paulina's favorite parts of their studies, but she had to admit the knowledge came in handy at certain times. They were now eighteen and of marrying age.

Paulina turned her head and could see Valerie toward the back, leaning up against the wall in her pale yellow dress with flowers pinned into the curls of her hair. Valerie appeared rather relaxed about the whole event.

"Now introducing Paulina of Sanchez," said the caller in a loud voice.

Paulina stepped through the doorway, appearing upon the top of a staircase covered in a red carpet. She strode down the stairs, careful not to make a fool of herself by tripping or stumbling. When she reached the end of the carpet, she curtsied before the royal family. She glanced up at them while keeping her head bowed.

The king was an imposing figure with strangely colored skin and red eyes that pierced into her as if he was judging her very soul. The horned style of his black hair was bizarre to look at, giving him the a weird resemblance to a vampire. His wife was no less imposing with only one red eye visible and the other hidden by a curtain of ebony hair. She looked like the type of woman who didn't sit idly by when a man was mistreating her.

"A pleasure to make your acquaintance, Princess Paulina," said the young prince, drawing Paulina attention back to the reason for her presence at the ball. He was quite handsome in his white suit that matched the snow white of his hair. His green glowed with a light and a hint of mischievousness. "I am Prince Phantom, heir to the Ghost Zone."

Paulina took the hand held before her and rose from her bowed position as the prince brought her hand to his lips and laid a gentle kiss upon it, like he had probably done to all the other princesses. "The pleasure is all mine," she replied politely as was custom. The next princess was being called, and Paulina curtsied again before moving aside to make room for the next woman to meet the prince. She faded into the crowd, but when she glanced back, she swore the prince was staring in her direction while the next princess made her way to greet the royal family.

When the final princess was announced and curtsied before the royal family, the real ball began. A band played music for them to dance to, the traditional type of dancing that Paulina sometimes really hated. There were other men at the ball that she could dance with other than the prince, but she had little interest in them. She sought out Valerie, who was making her way over to the balcony.

"This sure is one strange place, huh?" Valerie asked as they leaned against the rail and stared at the swirl of green before them. In the distance, there were purple doors of every shape and size as well as floating islands. "Can you imagine living here? Among ghosts?" She gave a shudder at the thought. "I didn't think the prince of the Ghost Zone would be interested in us fleshy mortal beings."

"Ah, but you fleshy mortal beings, as you put it, are so interesting."

Paulina spun around at the prince's voice, and Valerie gave a start at being overheard by the prince. They both curtsied as was proper for them to do.

"My apologies. I meant no disrespect," Valerie said, and Paulina could see the cringe on her face. They might speak to each other about the princes they've met, but they usually kept it to where they wouldn't be overheard, particular by the princes.

Phantom chuckled. "It's fine. I know it's rather odd for a ghost to wish to seek a human bride." He gestured for them to rise, so they stood up straight again. "I actually hoped to visit the mortal realm and study there, though my father is rather set against it. He sees no reason for our realm to interact with the mortal realm, but I think relations between our two realms would be far better if we interacted more and each side learned more about the other. Fear of the unknown tends to be a source of hatred."

Paulina nodded as that sounded logical. "Are you sure you shouldn't be speaking with Princess Sam?" She glanced past the prince into the ballroom where she could see the rather well known princess dressed in black ball gown and her ebony hair pulled back into a half ponytail. She had never really gotten along well with the other princess. "She seems like she'd be very well suited for, um," she blushed, lowering her head, "this sort of realm." From what she knew of her, Princess Sam liked the dark and Gothic.

Phantom nodded in return. "But that doesn't necessarily make us a match made in heaven." A faint smile appeared on his face, and Paulina actually thought her heart skipped a beat at the sight of it.

"Well, I think I'll just leave the two of you to talk," Valerie said before making her exit from the balcony.

"Naturally," Phantom said, hardly acknowledging that Valerie left, "I have no belief that I will find love tonight. At least, in the sense of love at first sight. Should something develop between us after tonight, though, I would be very happy with that."

"Ah," Paulina nodded her head as she turned back to the rail. In a moment, Phantom joined her there. "You intend to marry for love? Many of the princes I've met are more interested in a princess who knows her place and will do as he commands."

"My mother has made certain that I grow up knowing quite well how to properly treat a woman." Phantom smiled charmingly. "She would have my head, quite literally, if she saw me acting in the manner of those princes. I'm quite used to a woman who isn't afraid to speak her mind. So please don't feel like you have to hold back."

"You are certainly a different kind of prince." Paulina smiled back at him, and it didn't escape her that Phantom, though he stared at her quite a lot, kept his gaze upon her face, unlike some princes who might prefer to stare much lower.

"Well," Phantom shrugged, "I am a ghost."

"I didn't mean it like that!" Paulina gaped, horrified that she had offended him.

"I know." Phantom smirked as he reached out to take her hand. "Might I have your first dance?"

Paulina nodded, thinking that he could have all her dances if he always acted like this.


	23. Medieval

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Summary: Phantom storms the castle and finds someone unexpected.  
> Characters: Phantom x Fenton

"Find that rotten impostor king!" Phantom shouted, thrusting his sword down the great entrance hall of the castle. His army of knights swarmed into the castle, rushing off to hunt through the halls to seek out the false king that assumed the throne of this realm. His green eyes swept about the hall as he raced off to help the search. Metal clanged from his armor with every step he took. He followed a staircase into a lower level of the castle, knowing if there was a secret route out of it, the entrance would be found somewhere beneath ground.

The dungeons were grimy and damp, and the smell of it burned at his nose, making his eyes water from the pungent odor. Phantom pitied any prisoner forced into these horrible conditions. As he past the cells, he could catch glimpses through a small, barred openings in the doors that showed chains dangling from the ceiling where the prisoners would be kept. In one room, he actually spotted the bony limb of one arm still caught within a manacle.

A noise caught his ear, and Phantom paused, listening carefully. When something creaked, he turned his head to catch a door slowly drawing open. Cautiously, Phantom turned back with his sword held at the ready as he stepped back toward the cell. If the impostor king remained here, he would be sadly outmatched by the army Phantom brought with him. Nudging the door open with one foot, Phantom cautiously glanced about the cell. He ducked quickly, rolling forward when something swung at his head. His sword slashed around, but the chain caught his blade, twisting about it and holding it still. Phantom stared up into the bright blue eyes that glared back at him.

"Danny?" Phantom reached up and yanked off the helmet that hid his face.

The other man's body relaxed when he recognized the knight before him. "Phantom," Danny breathed out in relief. He closed the distance between them and embraced the knight, burying his face into the other man's neck.

Phantom released his hold on the sword that clattered to the floor as he held the raven haired man close. "What are you doing here?"

Danny's body seemed much frailer than Phantom recalled from their last meeting. He probably hadn't been well fed while kept in captivity. Dark smears of dirt and grime covered his body and his torn clothing. He had bruises in several places that Phantom could see, and cuts with dried blood caked on them, a few of which looked infected.

"Princess Dora sent messages to me," Danny explained, his body falling slack against Phantom, like the presence of the knight allowed him to finally give up the fight and relax for the first time in possibly months. "I managed to help her escape, but King Aragon the Arrogant caught me before I could follow after her. She should have made it back to the kingdom by now."

"You foolish one," Phantom breathed, pressing his lips to the top of the other man's head. "You shouldn't have risked it alone." It was because Princess Dora arrived at their kingdom that Phantom was able to lead an army here to take down King Aragon who assumed the throne after the death of his father. Princess Dora provided enough evidence of King Aragon's involvement in his father's death and of his corrupted leadership that forced their own king to make his move to dethrone King Aragon. This would allow Princess Dora to assume the throne and hopefully turn the kingdom around into a more prosperous one.

"You wouldn't be here now if I hadn't done something so foolish," Danny pointed out, smiling against Phantom's throat. "I considered it a necessary risk."

"It's because of these crazy self sacrificing moves that keeps the king from promoting you."

"I'm fine with that." Danny's eyes closed, his breaths evening as he slipped into sleep.

"Sir Phantom!" The shout came from outside the cell. "Sir, we've captured the impostor king!"

"Excellent," Phantom said as he picked up his sword and sheathed it. Then he lifted Danny into his arms and stood. "We return with him immediately." The knight saluted to him then hurried back down the dungeon hall. Phantom's gaze lowered to the man in his arms. "You'll be back to fighting shape before you know it." He held Danny close to him as he left the dungeons.


	24. Evil Version

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Summary: Her doom was coming, but she knew there was little point in trying to outrun it.  
> Characters: Dan x Ember

Ember didn't bother to lift her gaze as she plucked the strings of her guitar, playing a melody that popped into her head randomly. She could sense his presence long before his arrival. Already many others had fought against him over the years since the tragedy occurred and had suffered greatly for their efforts. It was now six years later, and if he still had his human side left alive, he would be twenty. From the few encounters she had with him, she had to admit that the years had been good to him. He wasn't the scrawny little teenager anymore but a tall, buff man that struck fear into the hearts of not only humans but ghosts too.

"Come to bully me like you do to everyone else?" she asked as her playing stopped. She kept her gaze lowered, catching sight of the green flames that spread around to encircle her. He was like a cat come to play with the mouse. Her hand gripped the neck of her guitar, and she swallowed hard, knowing from others' experiences that he could break her down in an instant. He had grown far too powerful, and he was still becoming stronger every day.

"I wouldn't have to hurt them if they would stop attacking me."

Ember stared at his feet, still wearing white boots like when he was a hero. But he wasn't that hero anymore, and part of her really missed that about him. "They attack you because they're scared of you, of the power you wield."

"You never join them. Do I not scare you too?"

"You terrify me." She dared to lift her head, hardening her green eyes into a cold glare. "But why should I bother to attack someone so broken?"

"Broken?" He threw back his head and laughed to the swirling green sky above them. "Me?" His head dropped, and his red eyes landed on her, boring into her as if they could pierce right through her and end her existence. "I'm stronger than I ever was as that half a being Danny Phantom. And my powers only grow stronger now that I don't have that human shell holding back my abilities."

Ember turned her gaze away from him, glancing over the top of the flames to see the shield that protected the town of Amity Park. "You are broken." She turned back to him. "And you'll always be broken if you continue clinging to the pain from that day."

He was before her in a flash, grabbing hold of her arms in a grip that hurt. "I am not _clinging_ to _anything_ from that day!" His shout made Ember wince. "I got rid of those emotions as soon as I could."

Ember shook her head. "You've only buried them. If you really felt nothing, why do you always act out in such pain?"

"Destroying things is fun." A cocky smirk spread onto his face. "Or have you forgotten that? Didn't you come to Amity Park to gain more power from people calling your name? What were you going to do with that power if not cause wreckage to the real world?"

"I don't know." Ember shrugged, in all honesty no longer remembering why she even bothered to seek power like that. "I guess my ghostly obsession drew me to act like that. Perhaps it's the same for you. Your ghostly obsession is pushing you to gain more power. But for what? The ones you wanted to protect are dead. And you lash out at that fact by rampaging and destroying."

"You act like you know so much." He snarled, his upper lip drawing back to show off fangs.

"So why don't you do the same to me that you do to everyone else?" Ember stared back evenly, though she felt like turning into a puddle of ectoplasm goo from fear. "Come on, dipstick. What's hold you back now?"

He shoved away from her with a grumbling growl. "It's no fun when you don't fight." He walked over to the edge of the floating island and sat down as the ring of fire extinguished itself.

Ember hesitated then walked over to join him. Silence stretched for much too long as nervousness built up inside her. Any moment now, he might change his mind and attack her until she was within an inch of her afterlife. "Want to try playing something, Dan?" She held out his guitar to her, and he stared at it with his brow creased. After a moment, he took it from her grasp, their fingers brushing against each other for barely a second.

"I tried this once," Dan mumbled as his fingers found their places upon the strings. "I wasn't very good."

"You just need to practice." Ember smirked as she nudged him in the ribs. She almost lost her balance on the edge when a distant smile managed to reach to his eyes.


	25. New Baby

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Summary: A new addition to the family requires talks about the future.  
> Characters: Tucker x Sam

"Now, Tucker," Sam said, folding her arms as she gave him a firm stare, "you know this won't be anything like taking care of that sack baby, correct?"

"Yes, yes." Tucker nodded, cradling the new bundle of joy in his arms like a precious treasure.

"I mean it. I don't want a repeat of what happened with the flour sack babies."

Tucker yanked his gaze away and lifted it to stare at Sam with a hint of annoyance in his green eyes. "I think it will be rather hard to turn her into a batch of cookies."

"Yet you can understand my worry, right?" Sam took a seat next to Tucker on the couch. "She's so peaceful when she's sleeping." She reached over and pressed a finger to a curled up fist. The chubby little fingers responded, grabbing hold of the woman's finger, and a smile tugged at Sam's face. "I still can't believe she's really here. I still feel like I should be sticking out with my big belly."

"We're not going to be lucky and have it this quiet all the time, are we?" Tucker winced merely thinking about all the times that he would likely have to deal with a loud, crying baby. The thought of changing stinky diapers wasn't any more pleasurable to consider.

"Maybe not always," Sam agreed. "But before we know it, she'll be crawling then walking and talking. She's going to be a little terror."

"Especially if she takes after you." Tucker chuckled until Sam snapped a glare toward him. He coughed then swallowed thickly. "I just mean, if she inherits your strong independence, she'll be hard to handle with her always wanting to defy us."

"Just imagine if she inherits your love of technology. She could wind up being a little tech genius."

"Well, if she gets anything from you, she'll be able to handle herself if anyone decides to tease her for being a techno geek."

Sam nodded, some of her long ebony hair slipping past her shoulder. "But we shouldn't encourage her to fight if it can be avoided. It should only be in the case of self defense." She lifted her gaze away from the sleeping baby to stare at Tucker. "So what did Danny say?"

"Well, he got held up a bit, so he won't be able to stop by until later, probably for dinner. But that's okay. It's probably better if he comes by when she'll be awake."

Sam rolled her eyes and slapped him lightly on the shoulder. "I meant about the other thing."

"Oh!" Tucker chuckled. "Of course he said yes. Did you really think he wouldn't agree to be her godfather?" He smirked at his wife. "He was really excited about it and wanted to know if he needed to buy her lots of presents for when he comes over."

"Oh no." Sam sighed. "Is he going to bring a lot of dorky Fenton Works toys?"

"This is Danny we're talking about." Tucker gave her a flat stare. "So yeah, that's most likely what he'll bring."

"Sometimes he's too much like his father." Sam shook her head with a small laugh.

"Well, that's not necessarily a bad thing." Tucker dropped his gaze to his daughter as she yawned widely in her sleep. "He's happy, and that's really all that matters."


	26. Scar

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Summary: Each new scar only made her worry grow.  
> Characters: Tucker x Jazz

"It's going to leave a scar," she said in a soft mumble barely above a whisper, almost like a simple thought that escaped her as she carefully patted the blood away with the towel in her hand. It wasn't a very deep wound, nothing serious enough that required them to make a trip to the hospital. After so many years, they had all gotten fairly good at cleaning up wounds. She learned how to stitch up a wound better than she ever learned how to do needlepoint for her father. It was a useful skill since it meant they didn't need to make frequent trips to the hospital where their injuries would draw questions from the doctors that they couldn't answer. She ran a finger tentatively over the neatly stitched wound on his left shoulder.

"Just another battle wound then," he said with a laugh as he grabbed his shirt and pulled his arms through the sleeves.

She hurriedly grabbed a bandage and pressed it on over the wound before he could pull his shirt over his head. "Try not to move your arm too much," she warned with worry in her voice. "I won't be happy if you pull the stitches.

"Jazz, this isn't the first time you've had to stitch me up." He turned around on the bed and smiled at her. "When was the last time I pulled the stitches?"

"A few years now." Jazz sighed as she packed the supplies back into their first aid kit that always seemed to need constant refilling from how often they used up everything inside it. "Tucker, how much longer can we keep doing this?" She frowned as her fingers danced over the top of the kit.

"What do you mean?" Tucker's brow creased as he tilted his head, confusion filling his green eyes.

"I mean this!" Jazz waved a hand between them. "Putting our lives in danger and having to patch each other up." Her shoulders sagged. "That seems to be all our lives are."

"Don't be crazy, Jazz." Tucker reached out and took hold of her hand, squeezing it tightly. "There's a lot more to our lives than that. You have your practice, and I work at Axion Labs. Besides, Danny needs our help. Do you really want him out there fighting all by himself?"

Jazz shook her head. "No, but I wish he didn't have to fight at all." With a sigh, she reached up to push back a lock of auburn hair behind her ear. "I'm just so sick of seeing everyone around me that I care about getting hurt."

Tucker tugged on her arm, pulling her closer until he enveloped her in his arms. "It's okay. We always come out all right in the end." He grinned at her. "Right?"

She frowned as she turned her gaze away. "We're not invincible though. Not even Danny is invincible. One of these times, the ghost might be more powerful than any of us can handle, even fighting together." She shuddered in his arms. "If Pariah Dark-"

"He's locked up tight," Tucker said with a comforting squeeze about her body. "No one is going to break him free ever again."

"Dan could still-"

"Clockwork won't let him escape the Thermos. Jazz, you're worrying too much. It was only a little scuffle, and the injury wasn't that bad."

"I know." Jazz kept her gaze lowered, unable to shake her worry. The others were bursting with confidence each time they beat back a ghostly threat, but she kept thinking about the next battle and the next enemy to show his or her face. She kept worrying that a stronger ghost would appear next and that one might be too strong.

"We all get a little scared. But we can't let that fear rule us, or we might freeze up in battle and that could cost us. We're not fearless, but we've learned how to act in the face of that fear." Tucker kissed her on the forehead. "We have people we don't want to lose." He cupped her face in his hands and smiled at her. "That's why we fight."


	27. Story Time

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Summary: Again and again, they never got tired of hearing the story.  
> Characters: Danny x Dora

"Tell it again! Tell it again!" chanted the two little children as they tugged at the skirt of her dress.

Dora smiled down at the twins, both with pale skin that only had a hint of green to it. The boy's hair was short and wild, a messy mop of blond. The girl matched her father with snow white hair that was tied back in a neat braid. The young girl preferred pants and running around learning how to fight with her father and brother. Though Dora didn't mind that, as she had learned to fight from her husband and thought it good for her daughter to learn as well, it was still a hassle getting the girl to wear a dress and appear to be a proper princess at royal functions.

"Again?" Dora questioned as she sat down and the two children climbed into her lap, their gazes fixing upon her in their eagerness to hear the story. "Didn't I just tell you the story last night?" She gave them a stern stare, though it seemed to have little effect on the children.

"But we like the story!" the boy argued.

"It's so romantic," the girl said, clasping her hands together with a dreamy sigh.

"But the fighting is the best part," the boy said, nudging his sister with a foot.

"Nu uh!"

"Ya huh!"

"Now, now," Dora said in a slightly louder voice to silence the bickering twins. "I'll tell the story so long as you two behave."

"We will!" the twins said immediately.

The corners of her mouth twitched as Dora stared down at them. Then she grinned and launched into the tale. "Long ago, many years before either of you were born, our kingdom was ruled over by a wicked king-"

"Uncle Aragon is a big butt!" the boy interrupted, his face scrunching up as a forked tongue slipped out to flicker in the air. At that same moment, his normal pupils turned to slits as his hair suddenly gave off a fiery appearance and scales of a slight darker green appeared around his eyes.

"Oh! You're not supposed to do that!" the girl said with a teasingly smug smirk.

"Now is that behaving?" Dora frowned severely at the twins.

"We'll be good!" they promised at once. "Please continue!"

Dora eyed them for a moment longer as the two children tried to appear as innocent as angels. The girl even managed to form a little halo of green ectoplasm above her head. "All right," she said after a while. "But you're wrong about your uncle. He's not a big butt. He's the biggest butt of all." She grinned when the two children giggled.

"What exactly are you teaching our children?"

Dora glanced up to see her husband standing over them. He was still quite the sight to see, tall with broad shoulders and nice muscle on him. He gave up the jumpsuit years ago, adopting something with a bit of armor that was more suited in appearance to where they lived. His white cape draped down to his feet, and a glowing green crown floated above his head. He kept his white hair short, but now he had a bit of hair growing upon his chin.

"Daddy!" the twins shouted as they jumped up from their mother's lap and rushed over to hug his legs. "You're back!"

"I am," Danny agreed with a wide smile as he dropped to one knee. "And I missed you both very much. Adelaide, my little fighter." He scooped up the young girl into his arms and hugged her tightly. "And Trevor," he eyed the young boy, "who has grown too big for his father to hug him?"

Trevor puffed out his cheeks, wanting to look embarrassed at the mere suggestion, but he hugged his arms around his father's neck.

"So what was this about people being butts?" Danny asked, turning a curious look onto his wife.

"They wanted to hear the story of how we met," Dora explained, "again," she rolled her eyes, "for the millionth time."

"Ah." Danny nodded and moved over to sit next to his wife. The twins crawled into their laps and got comfortable. "So where were you?"

"At the beginning." Dora smirked. "With Aragon being a butt."

"Of course." Danny chuckled.

"So Prince Aragon assumed the throne," Dora continued, picking up where she left off, "and he became such a wicked king. The people of our kingdom were quite miserable." Dora stared at her husband as she told the tale. Until meeting Danny, she never thought she could be so happy in all her afterlife.


	28. Proposal

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Summary: Desiree pays a visit to the wealth half ghost and ends up offering him a proposal.  
> Characters: Vlad x Desiree

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A little Doctor Dash related story.

She stepped through his Portal for the first time. She had met him many times over the years, so they were hardly strangers, but she rarely had cause to visit him at his home. His Portal was no secret, not after he turned away from his evil ways after being horribly beaten by Danny, Elle, and Valerie. Vlad, once the scheming and plots to kill and destroy Danny's family were set aside, could be a decent man, when he tried. And he tried very hard to keep in the others' good graces. The other two half ghosts and the huntress all had their reasons to hate him and punish him the moment he stepped out of line. But reconnecting with old friends and being treated as one of the family was probably what kept him from falling back into his old ways. It wasn't what he wanted, not what he thought he wanted after years of obsession, but it was, perhaps, what he really needed.

Desiree put on her usual disguise as a human. Should Vlad have company over for any reason, she wouldn't wish them to discover he had dealings with ghosts. She strode out of the laboratory, phasing through the hidden entrance after being certain that it was safe to do so. Then she wandered the castle in search of the half ghost. She blinked in surprise when she finally found him in the office.

It was the middle of the day, and the curtains of the large, floor to ceiling window behind the desk was drawn open to allow the light to fill the office. Vlad, meanwhile, sat at the desk with head resting on it and a pen loosely held in his hand. Tall piles of papers were stacked around him. One of them was dangerously close to spilling over and crashing into another to send papers everywhere. Desiree hurried over to the desk and neatly straightened the stack to prevent its toppling.

Vlad stirred, perhaps finally waking to the familiar chill of his ghost sense alerting him to her presence. He sat up and lifted his gaze to her. Dark bags showed under his tired eyes. His usually well kept silver hair was disheveled, and Desiree had to bite her lip to keep from laughing at the messy state that was so rarely seen.

"Desiree?" Vlad's brow furrowed in his sleepy confusion at her presence in his home. "What are you doing here?"

"Well," Desiree said as she helped straighten the other stacks of papers, "you offered me advice the last time we saw each other. Honesty with friends." She glanced up at him. "It turned out to be good advice as Paulina found out that I was a ghost right after that. Ah, but that's not important." She shook her head and dropped her gaze. "I merely wanted to come by and offer my thanks for the advice."

Vlad reached up and smoothed down his hair the best he could then worked on straightening his suit. "Ah, well, I'm glad my advice could help you." He sighed as his gaze drifted around his desk. "I'm never going to get this all done." He picked up a paper from the top of a stack on his left and looked ready to fall right back to sleep.

"Is there anything I can do to help?" Desiree shifted awkwardly when Vlad glanced at her. "I know I'm not exactly smart in the ways of today's world, and I don't know much about your business, but I still might be able to help in some small way." She lifted her shoulders in a shrug.

Vlad looked like he was about to send her away, but he paused in thought. "Are you proposing to become my secretary?" A curious eyebrow rose as his gaze drifted over her, like he was sizing up her ability to do the job rather than checking out her body like many of the men that glanced her way.

"If that is how I can help, then yes." Desiree nodded her head firmly. It was a strange feeling for her after so years of being seen only as some sort of object for men to drool over in her human disguise to have a man, other than Dan, looking at her like she had some worth beyond her body.

Vlad's gaze drifted over his stacks of papers. "Then I shall accept. This stack," he laid a hand on the one in front on the right side, "I need you to go through it and highlight every mention of January seventeenth." It was a fairly big stack, and the task sounded rather daunting.

Desiree took the highlighter that Vlad held out to her. Then she picked up the stack of papers and walked over to sit on the couch that had a coffee table before it. She set the stack of papers down on the table and immediately got to work scanning for any time the date January seventeenth appeared.

After several moments of them silently working, Vlad said, "Thank you," and Desiree smiled to herself.


	29. Intoxicated

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Summary: Big news means celebrating, and unfortunately, that tends to include alcohol.  
> Characters: Dash x Kwan

The bottle was ripped right out of his hand, and the former jock stared, his fingers flexing in his confusion at the lack of the solid item that he held not two seconds ago. "Hey!" he said, turning his confused frown onto the man beside him as his brow furrowed thickly under the raven bangs the hung down in his face. "What gives?"

"You've had way too many already," the blond man said, his frown leaving no room for arguments as he found a trash can into which he tossed the half empty beer bottle.

A pout formed on his face at the loss of the beer. "But, Dash!" he complained, hardly noticing the whine in his voice as he tugged on his friend's arm. "This is the time to celebrate! You're getting that big promotion! Pretty soon, you're going to be made partner." He grinned widely, grabbing hold of his friend's shoulders. "We're gonna be set for life, man!"

"And this is why I hate when you drink," Dash sighed tiredly. "You start talking all crazy, Kwan." He turned his friend around and ushered him toward the bedroom door. "I am a _long_ way off from making partner."

"No way! They love you at the firm." Kwan stumbled, and Dash had grab hold of him under his arms to keep the other man from falling flat on his face.

Next time, Dash would be certain to remove the alcohol from their apartment before telling Kwan any good news about promotions. He groaned when he realized Kwan would probably then suggest they go out and pick some up to celebrate. After he managed to get Kwan to the bed, he allowed his friend to fall onto it, face diving right into the mattress. Then he got to work on removing Kwan's shoes so that they wouldn't dirty up the sheets.

"You really shouldn't have drank so much," Dash said, shaking his head as he toed out of his own shoes. "Didn't you say you have that presentation tomorrow? Do you really want to show up there with a pounding headache because you got drunk?"

"Totally worth it." Kwan crawled to the head of the bed and nuzzled his head into the pillow with a dopey smile on his face.

"You're going to be regretting that decision in the morning." Dash flopped down on the bed, resting his head on a pillow as he folded his arms behind his head. "You're going to have your head in a giant mug of coffee and begging for death because your head feels like it's about to split open."

Kwan shifted on the bed until he curled up against Dash's side, resting his head on his friend's shoulder like it was a pillow. "So happy for you," he mumbled tiredly, aqua green eyes slipping half closed. "Just remember I love you more than the firm." He squeezed his arms around the former quarterback.

"I know," Dash whispered as he threaded his fingers through Kwan's hair as the other man snored softly against his chest. "I love you too." He leaned down and kissed Kwan on the top of his head.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I almost didn't write something for this theme because it felt like intoxicated could run too close toward rape, and I didn't want to write something like that, so I struggled with the theme for a while.


	30. Wedding

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Summary: They promised to meet and slip away after the wedding was done.  
> Characters: Vlad x Spectra

"Lovely wedding," Vlad said, patting the groom on the shoulder.

Daniel's eyes narrowed and very nearly shifted to green before he caught himself. "Sometimes it's hard to tell if you're being sarcastic or not."

"I genuinely meant it. You couldn't have asked for a better wedding." Vlad lifted his champagne glass to the younger half ghost as a smirk spread onto his face. He couldn't help if the expression looked evil in the eyes of the other man. After many long years of associating with one another, Daniel still kept him at a certain distance, hesitant to really get close to the older half ghost on the chance that Vlad reverted back to his evil ways.

"And it better stay that way," Daniel said with a hint of a threat in his voice. "I mean it, Vlad. I'm not going to allow you or any other ghost to ruin today."

"Of course, Daniel. None of us would dream of it." Vlad bowed his head to the groom, and his gaze drifted about the room. "It looks like your wife wants you to entertain some guests. So I'll leave you to it." He strolled away sipping at his champagne glass as the young woman descended upon Daniel with some of her relatives to greet the new member into their family. He gave the room another glance, noting that Jack and Maddie seemed to be busy chatting to two adults that looked very unhappy to have the Fentons there, in their jumpsuits, and no doubt blathering on about ghosts.

Setting the champagne glass down on a table near the door, Vlad slipped out of the room where everyone was gathered for the reception. No one would notice his absence, except perhaps Jack, and Daniel would certainly feel relieved to have his former archenemy gone from his big day. He wandered down the hall, and it didn't take him long to encounter someone.

"Ugh, can you believe all the blubbering they did?" the female ghost asked, looking sickened by the display of the guests that attended the wedding. "I couldn't even get a decent meal off any of them."

"You are far too beautiful to need to continue feeding off the negative emotions of people, Spectra," Vlad said as he held out an arm to her.

"Well, aren't you just the gentleman." Spectra smirked wryly at him as she took his arm. "And it only took you, what, several hundred hours of therapy to get over that nasty little obsession with a certain woman?"

Vlad nodded as he led the way toward the exit of the building where the reception was held. "Though that seemed to turn out quite well for you." The corner of his mouth turned upward as he glanced her way.

"Oh yes." Spectra rolled her green eyes behind the glasses that she wore. "And yet, after everything we've done together, you still can't even call me by my first name."

Vlad blinked and cast his gaze toward her. "Ah," he said as if coming to a sudden revelation. "I suppose from our sessions I got used to calling you Spectra. But if you prefer, I shall start calling you Penelope."

"I do prefer that."

Vlad nodded, making a mental note to remember that. It was quite a strange development really. After much debate and with great hesitation and a certain amount of reluctance, Vlad sought out Spec- Penelope for help. A human therapist simply wouldn't do as there was a great number of things that he wouldn't be able to mention because of his ghostly dealings. Young Jasmine would have been another choice, but Vlad suspected after everything, she may not wish him to seek her out for help. There was a conflict of interest between them, though Vlad knew Jasmine would act as professionally as possible.

But Vlad decided to go to Penelope because there was no bad feelings between them. He admitted that he didn't think she had any skill as a therapist, but she was surprisingly good at the job, when she wasn't purposely manipulating someone to feel even worse so that she could feed off their emotions. It took them a good number of years to work through his problems to the point that he _could_ move on from his obsession with Maddie and let go of his hatred toward Jack. Developing a better relationship with Daniel, however, was still taking some work, though Vlad couldn't blame the younger half ghost if Daniel never found it in him to forgive his once archenemy for everything that happened between them.

His relationship with Penelope was quite unexpected. It happened suddenly one day as they spoke, something they had done often during their association. Then out of nowhere, they kissed. Vlad didn't expect to fall in love with someone else, and especially after only a few years of giving up his obsession with Maddie.

"I do believe our relationship would give cause for you to have your license revoked," Vlad said with a small smirk.

"Good thing I don't abide by the rules of the real world." Penelope smirked back. Yes, therapy was probably the best decision Vlad could have made.


End file.
